Happy Easter Monday!

Easter Monday, another public holiday in much of the UK, has little religious significance bu numerous secular customs.

Egg rolling: Egg rolling is very popular in England and is an Easter Monday sport. Hard-boiled eggs are rolled down a hill. Customs differ from place to place. The winner's egg may be the one that rolls farthest, survives the most rolls, or is rolled between two pegs. In the UK the tradition of egg rolling goes back hundreds of years and is known as "pace-egging", from the Old English Pasch meaning Easter. In Lancashire there are annual egg rolling competitions at Avenham Park in Preston and at Holcome Hill near Ramsbottom. There is an old Lancashire legend that says the broken eggshells should be carefully crushed afterwards or they will be stolen and used as boats by witches. Other traditional egg rolling sites are the castle moat at Penrith, Bunkers Hill in Derby and Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh. The eggs were traditionally wrapped in onion skins and boiled to give them a mottled gold appearance (although today they are usually painted) and the children competed to see who could roll their egg the furthest. The eggs were eaten on Easter Sunday or given out to pace-eggers – fantastically dressed characters who processed through the streets singing traditional pace-egging songs and collecting money as a tribute before performing traditional mumming plays (Mummers' Plays (also known as mumming) are seasonal folk plays performed by troupes of actors known as mummers or guisers (or by local names such as rhymers, pace-eggers, soulers, tipteerers, galoshins and so on), originally from the British isles, but later in other parts of the world). This tradition has also survived at Linctus Peverell in the Cotswolds. The young men of the village dress as mummers and sing the traditional “Gander song,” the first verse of which is:
Roodle oh my doddle oh
Roodle all the day
Now all you gay bachelors listen oh to me
Never get wed if you want to stay free
Billy cock, Billy cock
For who will boggle me gander
When I am far away?
Roodle oh my doddle oh
Roodle all the day

Other countries: In Germany a prize is awarded to the contestant whose egg rolls fastest down a track made of sticks. In Holland the contestant whose egg rolls furthest wins a prize. In Egypt children bowl red and yellow eggs towards another row of eggs and whoever cracks one egg can claim them all..

Biddenden Dole: At Biddenden in Kent, the Biddenden Dole, in the form of bread, cheese, tea (formerly beer) and cake is distributed The cake bears an image of two women said to be the founders of this charity, a pair of Siamese twins who were born in 1100 and died within a few hours of each other at the age of 34.

Hare Pie Scramble and Bottle Kicking: At Hallaton in Leicestershire, the Hare Pie Scramble and Bottle Kicking begins with the blessing of a pie (usually made with beef rather than hare), which is subsequently broken up and thrown to the assembled crowd. This is followed by an unruly football game between the village of Hallaton and Medbourne. Small wooden barrels filled with ail are used as rugby balls in the no-holds barrel contest, the object of which is to get each touchline in either village.

Whatever you do today - if like me you are recovering from an overdose of Creme Eggs - have a great day!