Excuses to Party in November
Celebration and Feast Days of the Month of November
November derives from the word novem meaning nine because it used to be the ninth month until the calendar was tinkered with in 1751. The Saxons called it wing-monat (wind month). It was later known as blot-monat (blood month) because it was the month when cattle, sheep and pigs were slaughtered so meat could be cured to use as food in the winter.
It also has several celebration days marked on the calendar and details of these are given below along with some of the traditions associated with them. So, if a host or hostess is really stuck for party ideas during the month of November, maybe one of these feast days could be used as a theme.
All Saints Day, All Souls Day and Guy Fawkes Day
November 1st is the Feast of All Saints. Originally held on 1st May, it was moved in 837 to November 1st possibly because November was a more convenient time of year for Catholics to make their devotions. It was set up to commemorate all those Saints who don’t have a particular day designated to them.
There aren’t many UK traditions for this day – possibly because it follows on so quickly from the high jinks associated with Halloween. Parts of Cornwall, however, allocated the nearest Sunday to All Saints Day to celebrate “feastin” Sunday and Monday. On this two day festival open house was kept and elaborate meals were served. Vast plum cakes were baked on the Saturday to offer around the next day.
All Souls Day follows swiftly on November 2nd. This is the day when everyone prays and holds masses for the dead and the altar is hung in black. In Wales, soul cakes are distributed to the poor who pray to God to bless the next wheat crop. In parts of England, the wealthy would distribute oat cakes called soul mass cakes to the poor.
November 5th is well known as being Guy Fawkes Day – named after the man who headed a plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament. It’s the day when bonfires are lit, effigies are burnt on them, fireworks light up the sky and parkin and treacle toffee are consumed in vast quantities.
St Brice’s Day and St Catherine’s Day
St Brice’s Day is on November 13th. The townsfolk of Stamford in Lincolnshire on St Brice’s Day would hold an annual bull run. A bull would be let loose in the streets of the town and be chased by all and sundry carrying sticks and other weapons. Fortunately this practise was outlawed in the town around 1840.
November 25th is St Catherine’s Day. It’s the day that the lace makers of Buckinghamshire traditionally got together to drink beer and eat a sort of caraway seed bun called “wiggs”. Legend has it that this celebration commemorates Queen Catherine helping the lace trade. She burnt all her lace and ordered new lace to be made. Her courtiers really had no option but to follow suite, thereby boosting the trade once more.
St Andrew – Patron Saint of Scotland
November 30th is a big day in Scotland. It is the feast day of their patron saint, St Andrew. Porridge, haggis and singed sheep’s head washed down with a good scotch whisky seem to be the flavours of this day. Singed sheep’s head appears to be a Scandinavian delicacy and was probably introduced to Scotland by the marauding Vikings.
Singed sheep's head involves holding a sheep's head over a fire to burn off the wool, cutting it in half, removing the brains and then boiling it up in a pot with root vegetables such as onion, carrots, swede etc. for several hours to make a sort of stew which would last for several days.
Sources:
- Belgravia Magazine, 1897
- Gentleman’s Magazine 1901
- The Times Digital Archive
Bull Baiting on St Brice's Day
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Caraway Seed for Seed Buns
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