Transcript

The Holidays We Forgot About - Documentary

From Fire of Learning · Episode page · Watch on YouTube

· 1 h 26 min · 14,279 words · 105 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "The Holidays We Forgot About - Documentary", an episode of Fire of Learning published December 6, 2025 (1 h 26 min, about 14,279 words). It mentions 13 people, works and ideas, including Martyra, Shrove Tuesday, Ronald Hutton, Cornwall, The Stations of the Sun.

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 10:00: Martyra, Shrove Tuesday, Christmas Town, The Nightmare Before Christmas
  2. – 20:00: Martyra, Shrove Tuesday
  3. – 30:00: Ronald Hutton, The Stations of the Sun
  4. – 40:00: Cornwall, Ronald Hutton
  5. – 50:00: Ronald Hutton, The Stations of the Sun
  6. – 1:25:50: Cornwall, Kevin Danaher, Limmerick, Oceanania

Notable quotes from "The Holidays We Forgot About - Documentary"

  • In the classic 1993 Tim Burton film, The Nightmare Before Christmas, the main character, Jack Skellington, the king of Halloween Town, finds himself wandering in the forest, worn by the monotony of.
    about The Nightmare Before Christmas · at
  • Is a holiday known by many names, but to our English-speaking audience, it is perhaps best known as Martyra.
    about Martyra · at
  • Naturally took on significance as the last day to live it up before Lent. This day is called Shrove Tuesday, also known as Fat [snorts] Tuesday. Marty Gro is French for fat…
    about Shrove Tuesday · at
  • Even the summer. Some were in place permanently and were simply decorated during May. As is discussed by Ronald Hutton in his book, The Stations of the Sun. Historically, a…
    about Ronald Hutton · at
  • Hutton notes that the bonfire traditions were absent in England apart from Cumbria and Cornwall. Though as we will discuss later, these customs do very closely resemble those…
    about Cornwall · at
  • Slowly faded away over the course of centuries. In places like the United States and Oceanania, the holiday is almost totally unheard of, apart from a few small scattered…
    about Oceanania · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

  • Ronald Hutton — Person · 3 mentions · first at
  • Kevin Danaher — Person · 1 mention · first at
    A record from an elderly man from Limmerick, Ireland, presented in the book, The Year in Ireland by Kevin Danaher, which discusses celebrating Midsummer written in 1943. The…

Books & papers

  • The Stations of the Sun — Book · 2 mentions · first at
    Permanently and were simply decorated during May. As is discussed by Ronald Hutton in his book, The Stations of the Sun. Historically, a common maple tradition was to steal the…
  • The Nightmare Before Christmas — Book · 1 mention · first at
  • The Year in Ireland — Book · 1 mention · first at
    A record from an elderly man from Limmerick, Ireland, presented in the book, The Year in Ireland by Kevin Danaher, which discusses celebrating Midsummer written in 1943. The…

Concepts & topics

  • Martyra — Concept · 6 mentions · first at
  • Shrove Tuesday — Concept · 3 mentions · first at
  • Christmas Town — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    Christmas Town. Have you ever wondered what that might be like? To suddenly discover something as huge, as rich, as wondrous as Christmas? Would you like to find out? Hidden on the calendar in.
  • Lent — Concept · 1 mention

Places & events

  • Cornwall — Place · 3 mentions · first at
  • Oceanania — Place · 1 mention · first at
  • Limmerick — Place · 1 mention · first at
    Few small scattered exceptions. There is a record from an elderly man from Limmerick, Ireland, presented in the book, The Year in Ireland by Kevin Danaher, which discusses…
  • UK — Place · 1 mention

Full transcript with timestamps

In the classic 1993 Tim Burton film, The Nightmare Before Christmas, the main character, Jack Skellington, the king of Halloween Town, finds himself wandering in the forest, worn by the monotony of his unchanging life when he happens upon something quite unusual, quite new. A ring of trees in the forest, on each of which is a door, each of a unique design. Jack, of course, chooses to open the most eye-catching door of them all, the decorated conifer tree with a gold star at top it. In doing so, he falls into a portal and discovers a completely new world of which neither he nor anyone else in Halloween Town has ever heard.

Christmas Town. Have you ever wondered what that might be like? To suddenly discover something as huge, as rich, as wondrous as Christmas? Would you like to find out? Hidden on the calendar in between the widely observed and cherished holidays of the western world are the holidays we forgot about. Traditions no less magical, exciting, and to those of the past who kept them important as the ones which have survived. Ladies and gentlemen, hello and welcome to Fire of Learning. Thank you for joining us in this video as we explore several of these forgotten holidays. Before we begin, we'd like to mention that holiday history can be a complicated subject, very often underestimated in its complexity. Many holidays are older than most countries and spread across much of the world, varying throughout it. We've done our best to avoid oversimplifications, but it still needs to be said that there is

generally more to each of the holidays that we are going to discuss than what is presented here because this video is more introductory and can only be so long. Also, we'd like to mention that anything said in this video is of course subject to change if contradictory evidence arises that proves us incorrect. Now then, let's get to it. Let us begin with a holiday which many have likely heard of in some form. Indeed, it is probably the least forgotten holiday on our list, being in fact celebrated in over 50 countries and a very big celebration in some of them at that, but which in many other areas is largely unobserved and as mysterious as the masqueraders who celebrate it. It is a holiday known by many names, but to our English-speaking audience, it is perhaps best known as Martyra.

In the United States, Martyra is a holiday closely intertwined with the French culture of Louisiana. It's easy to think that Mardigra is unique to New Orleans or even that it started there. However, Louisiana Mardigra is in fact merely a piece of something much larger and much older. To understand Mardigra, we have to zoom out and begin with Easter. Easter, as you may know, is preceded in many Christian denominations by a period known as Lent. To understand Mardigra, we must understand Lent. This will take a moment, but bear with us.

In the United States, Lent is known as fish sandwich on a Friday night season. However, for the theological definition, Lent is a period in which various Christian groups like Catholics, the Eastern Orthodox, and many, though not all Protestant denominations focus more intensely on things like penance, abstinence from certain foods and activities fasting prayer charity etc. in preparation for Easter. How exactly Lent is observed varies depending on the type of Christianity that is practiced. Even within branches, there may be variation. However, generally speaking, Lent begins 40 days, not counting Sundays, and so 46 days overall before Easter and ends on Easter Sunday. Technically, for a number of groups, Lent ends on the Thursday before Easter, but then the rules still apply until Easter, but we're not going to focus much on details like that. Just know that many such exist. For example,

today mainstream Catholics typically observe the following rules for Lent. On two days, the day Lent starts, a day called Ash Wednesday, and the Friday before Easter, called Good Friday, everyone beyond a certain age, not pregnant or nursing, and in proper health, is required to fast, meaning eating only one full meal and two smaller meals, these two being no larger than the full meal combined, and abstain from eating meat, excluding seafood, which is categorized separately. Furthermore, Catholics are not supposed to eat meat on any Friday throughout the year with some exceptions. Many Catholics do not follow this rule partially because they are allowed to substitute it with another form of penance in places like the US, but emphasize it during the Fridays in Lent.

Beyond this, devoting extra time to prayer, charity, and other forms of piety are heavily encouraged. Often, people will choose to sacrifice various other things that they enjoy during Lent as well. Weddings, festive celebrations, and things of this nature are traditionally discouraged during Lent. Most other forms of Christianity that observe Lent do something similar to this, although Protestant denominations are often a bit more relaxed, while the Eastern Orthodox are more strict. The rules have varied throughout time, however, with the modern Catholic rules only having been adopted in the 1960s.

Traditionally, the requirements were more demanding. Indeed, as one goes back through history, the rules become more and more strict. To truly understand and empathize with why Martyra developed, we must look at Lent in the Middle Ages. Throughout the Middle Ages, Lent often involved eating and drinking nothing until either after sunset or 300 p.m. every day of Lent and then only one simple pescatarian meal as abstaining from not just meat but animal products in general, meaning dairy and eggs as well was required. This fasting was lifted on Sundays but generally not abstinence. Furthermore, historically breaking the rules of Lent was far less acceptable than it is today. often carrying social if not legal consequences and so people made effort to hold to them. [clears throat] Lent has a long and complicated history. The rules have varied by region and changed throughout time, relaxing gradually

throughout the Middle Ages, but for the most part, this is how medieval Lent worked. It wasn't and isn't meant as a fun time, but rather as a time intended for spiritual growth. As we said, Lent for most denominations begins 46 days or 40 days excluding Sundays before Easter. The date of Easter changes each year because of how early Christians decided it should be calculated. As a result, many things like Lent as well as a few interesting events that come after Easter move with it. However, Easter of course always falls on a Sunday and so Lent always starts on a Wednesday, the aforementioned Ash Wednesday. Now, prior to Lent, various Christian groups observe a period of preparation for Lent, including a 3-day period before Ash Wednesday called Shro Tide. The purpose of this pre-Lent season is to do three things. The first is for Christians to reflect on what spiritual challenges they face so as to prepare to

focus on these in particular during Lent. The second is to seek forgiveness for their past sins. This is what the shrove in shroet tide means. To be shreven is to be granted absolution or to be forgiven for your sins after confession. The third is well party. Christians were historically encouraged to use up all the meat, dairy, eggs, and things such as this in their homes in the final weeks and especially days before Lent began. And furthermore, to get all of the merrymaking and festivity out of their systems before the austerity required of it. These circumstances are practically begging for a huge celebration. And this is where we finally get to Mardigra.

The day before Ash Wednesday quite naturally took on significance as the last day to live it up before Lent. This day is called Shrove Tuesday, also known as Fat [snorts] Tuesday. Marty Gro is French for fat Tuesday. Because Easter can fall on any date between March 22nd and April 25th, Shrove Tuesday can fall on any date between February 3rd and March 9th. For example, in 2026, because Easter is on April 5th, Shrove Tuesday is on February 17th. Both Catholics and Protestants use the term Shro Tide, but the word carnival is often used as well, especially among Catholics. The word carnival seems to come from Latin meaning either the removal of meat or the farewell to meat. However, carnival is closely intertwined but not perfectly interchangeable with the term shro tide.

Shro tide is again the 3-day period preceding Lent. Carnival overlaps with this period, but the carnival season traditionally begins all the way back on January 6th, which is the day after the 12 days of Christmas traditionally end. Carnival celebrations can occur at any time in between January 6th and Trove Tuesday with many variations depending on the specific culture. However, Shrove Tide and Fat Tuesday in particular are almost universally the climax of the carnival season. Indeed, so much emphasis is on Fat Tuesday specifically that in America, the term Mardigra can refer to the entire carnival season and its events, even though Martyra is just the last day of carnival. This is an outrageous amount of terminology to introduce all at once. Feel free to pause the video and look at this labeled calendar for reference. And so now for the fun part. What do people typically do throughout this time?

Pre-lent celebrations in some form can be found anywhere there is Christianity. Celebration varies by region and has also varied across history, but there are similar relatively consistent traditions across the world. Much of it is what you would expect from a holiday many call carnival. Carnival celebrations often feature parties, balls, festivals, parades, and events like these. Celebrants will often dress in bright, vibrant colors and adorn masks and costumes. The costumes that are worn on carnival can vary quite a bit even within cultures, but today you will often find people dressed in historical and mythological costumes as clowns, knights, animals, and things of this nature. A defining symbol of carnival and some other pre-land celebrations, however, is the mask. The tradition of wearing a mask for carnival dates back centuries. Carnival celebrations are traditionally intended to be a kind of time outside of time or

a world outside of the world when social norms, rules, and boundaries are relaxed or even reversed within reason. Of course, usually we can't speak for every party. The mask encourages this, allowing revelers to enter this world and relax a bit to be themselves freely and for the community as a whole to casually intermingle without regard for things like social class or status. Masquerade balls in particular are common in and in fact have their origins in carnival. That being said, masks have sometimes been prohibited or regulated at carnival parties. Indeed, often identities are known even when masked, but there is still a tacid agreement that a certain amount of silliness and absurdity should be tolerated on carnival. Usually within reason, cities didn't typically burn to the ground, though historically carnival was a holiday that could get out of hand and had earned a bad reputation as a result.

While the various pre-Lent holidays may be Christian traditions, in truth, the authorities of the various Christian denominations that observe one could easily be annoyed by the excesses of the holiday and are sometimes still. As a result, in some cases, in places like New Orleans, there were efforts to clean carnival up and make it a more tame holiday, much like what happened with Christmas. In other places, it was outlawed altogether for various reasons. Rulers like Napoleon, for example, fear that masked, drunken crowds could pose a threat and banned carnival when he occupied Venice. Parades are another common carnival occurrence found all over the world. These may occur in day or night. Feasting, especially on the rich, indulgent foods that traditionally will soon be banned, is another major aspect of carnival and pre-land celebrations in general. Indeed, some areas that don't even have much of a

pre-land celebration will still observe a kind of tradition during Shrove Tide in which such foods are consumed. Shrove Tuesday is sometimes known as pancake day in places like England, for example. Pancing races have been taking place in England during Shrove Tide since the 15th century and continue to this day. In American cities with large Polish populations like Detroit and Chicago, there is Ponchki Day. A ponchky being a kind of doughut introduced to these cities by Polish immigrants. Let's zoom in now on a few specific celebrations to get a more detailed look at how some of them have taken shape. Starting with Mardigra in the United States. Carnival is of course not popular in America, but there are multiple regions which do observe it in some form. The most famous example is of course Mardigra in Louisiana. Indeed, the celebration here has had such an influence that most major American carnival celebrations are

modeled off of it and as we said earlier are even called Martyra celebrations even in areas without a French background. Prominent Martyra celebrations take place in various places across the US. However, especially across the Gulf Coast region in cities like Mobile, Alabama, Pensacola, Florida, and Galveastston, Texas. As is standard, celebrations can begin weeks before Fat Tuesday in these regions, but tend to culminate on it, ending once the clock strikes midnight on Ash Wednesday. Vibrant, elaborate costumes and decorations of all colors can be seen in an American Marty Gro celebration, but the defining three colors are purple, gold, and green. Why? In 1872, they were chosen by the Rex organization in New Orleans as the colors for their inaugural parade, but no one knows exactly why. There are various theories, but it may simply be that the colors are fun and looked good together and as a result stuck around

and came to be associated with the holiday in general. From a top their floats, crews kes, who by New Orleans law must wear masks while on the floats, will often throw what are called throws, which can be various fun objects like candy, toys, and martyra beads into the crowd. Martyra beads are another distinguishing symbol of the holiday. Today, gold, purple, and green plastic beads can be found all over the place anywhere there is a Marty GR party. They are worn around the neck and even hung as decorations. King cake is another defining aspect of American Martyra.

Historically, king cake, also called three kings cake, was associated more with Epiphany. Epiphany is the name of the holiday that falls on January 6th, which again marks the beginning of the carnival season. January 6th, for the record, is also called 12th night because it is by some, but not all definitions, the 12th night of Christmas. That's a topic for another time. The cake is named after the three kings or magi who are said in the Bible to have visited Jesus shortly after his birth and bestowed gifts onto him. This is one of the events which Epiphany commemorates. However, in 19th century Louisiana, the cake began to become associated more with carnival in general and is today closely associated with martyra in America. A martyra king cake is traditionally a round bri cake today often decorated in martyra colors.

Traditionally, an object called a fev like a faba bean, a pee, a coin, or a plastic baby, is hidden within the cake. The fev is meant to represent the baby Jesus. Whomever receives the piece with the FEV in it is awarded some kind of honor upon the night. This may be as simple as being granted good luck. It may mean winning a gift or at some parties the winner is crowned with a paper or plastic crown and along with a partner of their choosing if they so wish declared the Marty GR king or queen. A great honor which might even allow them a certain degree of privilege or control over party activities. Beware though, for with great power comes great responsibility. The Marty GR king or queen may be responsible for providing next year's cake or even hosting next year's party. Of course, hiding these objects within a cake can pose a choking hazard and so some have moved towards things like injecting a certain slice of

cake with some kind of distinct filling or using fruit or something like this. Italy is another great epicenter of carnival. Indeed, many core traditions of modern carnival appear to have had their origin in medieval and early modern Italy. Here are to be found some of the most beautiful and elaborate carnival costumes in the entire world. The Carnival of Venice, often believed to have been the city in which the tradition of carnival mask wearing was born, is one of the most famous in the world. But other cities such as Vario and Iria have noteworthy celebrations as well. Iria has a particularly famous tradition known as the battle of the oranges. This is a giant three-day long city-wide food fight in which people reenact a legendary battle by throwing oranges at each other. Starting on Trove Sunday and culminating on Tuesday, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil hosts the world's largest carnival celebration with an

average of 2 million people participating on each of the five days on which it takes place each year. The traditions of both indigenous and Afrobrazilians have had a heavy influence on the way to celebrate it in terms of the music, food, costumes, events, and much more. Protestant, especially Lutheran and Anglican traditions, feature many similarities with Catholic carnival. The Lutheran carnival known as Foselavan in Danish or Fostal Avent in German, meaning the eve of the fast is especially popular in Scandinavia and parts of Germany. Fostal lavven is observed seven Sundays before Easter and features costumes, parades, indulgent food, and other festivities much like carnival. Though there are distinct traditions, for example, children in costumes may go doortodoor singing and collecting candy or pastries from their neighbors. Historically, if children were denied a treat from a home on Fossil, they might threaten it with

mischief. This is, of course, just trick-or-treating without the vampires. What's it doing in Shrove Tide? As we mentioned, the development of the holidays has been a very complicated process. Trick-or-treating on Halloween is itself only a version of a tradition with a much larger backstory behind it. That's a conversation for another time, though. The Eastern Orthodox also have a form of carnival preceding their Lent called Maslanita. In many ways, it is identical to what has so far been discussed, but with naturally a number of unique regional traditions as well.

Life is, of course, not all fun and games. The medieval people who developed Carnival knew this well, but life is partly fun and games. It's not all bad. And Carnival arrives, not by coincidence, at the bleakest time of year, to bring people together and remind them of that. And to, as they say of Carnival, let the good times roll. Indeed, not only was this a time when the challenge of Lent lay ahead, but even the time before it, late January and early February without festivity is really just

it is widely held that holidays, at least some of them, are days on which the rules of the world may bend. We enter a kind of time outside of time on such days, perhaps even to the extent that magic and supernatural forces abound in our world. Halloween is a perfect example of this. The sunset of October 31st heralds the beginning of a night on which many strange and unnatural things may occur. In particular, it is said that the activity of the restless dead is heightened upon Halloween night. Christmas is another obvious example. Everyone knows that it is on or around Christmas, especially during the quiet hours of night in between Christmas Eve and morning that something magical, something quite out of the ordinary may very well happen.

Traditionally, it was also believed that the rules of the world could bend in their own unique ways on a few holidays we forgot about, including one that falls at the dawn of May, aptly known as Mayday. Mayday is a holiday that was traditionally celebrated on May 1st across much of Europe. Many people today know of and observe a holiday on May 1st called May Day, also known as International Workers Day, a day similar to what Americans call Labor Day, except in May. However, this is a modern or 19th century holiday that merely occurs on the same day as a much older tradition and has thus absorbed the name. The preodern holiday was rather different and much older. Its purpose was to bring communities together to celebrate the end of winter and the return of the warmth and to engage in various traditional customs and events associated with this time of year. While Mayday falls on May 1st, historically

celebrations in certain events could occur on the days surrounding it as well being a multi-day celebration in some instances. The night before Mayday, April 30th, is called May Eve or in some areas while Pergus night. As we shall see, this rather spooky night in particular holds significance in many cultures as well. Let us start with a defining symbol of Mayday, at least in countries like England. The maple. Mayoles are great poles or trees, often birch trees if available, typically decorated with colorful ribbons, flowers, and greenery, which were and are erected on either Mayday or eve to herald the return of summer. They were most common, though by no means exclusive, to the Germanic regions of Europe, namely England, Germany, and the lands. Mapoles were typically erected in the centers of towns, villages, or wherever the main area of celebration happened to be. They would sometimes be

brought in in a grand procession carried by people or oxen. The latter of which might have themselves been decorated with things like flowers tied to their horns. Once raised, the local community would gather around them to dance, to feast, to drink, to talk, and to celebrate. The maple would then remain up for days, often throughout May or even the summer. Some were in place permanently and were simply decorated during May. As is discussed by Ronald Hutton in his book, The Stations of the Sun. Historically, a common maple tradition was to steal the neighboring villages maple before it could be raised. This sometimes led to violence.

Imagine it brawling with the neighboring villagers in a lovely meadow as the sun rises on Mayday. Birds chirping, men yelling and punching, flowers blooming, someone throwing a chair. You might call this living in the moment, and that is perhaps the holiday tradition, which is the most sorely missing. The maple theft tradition has survived in some areas that still deserve the historic Mayday. Although it is much more of a friendly, good-natured game today. In parts of Bavaria, for example, if one village or town manages to steal a maple from another, the ones who have been stolen from must invite the thieves to their village for a party, which includes free beer. Those who weren't occupied with mischief in the early hours of the day might have instead been found bringing in the May.

This phrase refers to collecting the flowers and foliage of the countryside to decorate the local area. Indeed, there was an emphasis on enjoying the beauty and joys of nature on Mayday. Garlands of flowers were made to decorate homes, buildings, and other surrounding areas. Ladies would wear crowns of flowers on their heads, and men might wear garlands of leaves. Groups of young ladies would sometimes travel doortodoor, exchanging garlands for money or treats. Baskets or paper cones decorated with foliage and flowers, which might also contain candies and treats or small gifts called May baskets, would sometimes be left on the doorsteps or handles of friends, family, romantic interests, and sometimes even enemies. These specific flowers used to decorate the basket might have carried specific meanings.

Each region would have their own variations, but for example, slow blossoms might express romantic interest. Nettles a mark of insult. Many sources stress the importance of not getting caught leaving the basket. Knock perhaps yell may basket and then run away. Morris dancing is another custom associated with mayday though not exclusively mayday. This is a traditional English folk dance which appears to have its roots in the late middle ages. Generally, dancers and musicians will arrive in public or parties in costumes, which for the dancers includes bells on either their shins or shoes. Often included in their performative dances are handkerchiefs, sticks, and swords. The latter two of which will sometimes be clung together as they dance.

Alexander such great things. There's none compar. A specific tradition was for dancers to gather upon a hilltop before sunrise and dance the sun up. In England, Mayday celebrations were and again in some cases still are often officially commenced by the order of a figure known as the May Queen, sometimes called the summer queen. The May Queen was typically a teenage girl from the community elected to her role by her peers and publicly crowned with a tiara or a crown of flowers. Often she would be tasked with duties such as delivering a speech or leading a Mayday parade.

Many may be wondering at this point is Midsummer the Swedish Mayday? Not exactly. Midsummer or Midsummer, also called St. John's Day, is a separate holiday that falls on June 24th. More about that later. For now though, yes, the Scandinavians do practice many of these same traditions on that day, largely because Mayday traditionally celebrates the coming of summer, which comes a bit later in Sweden. Isn't May 1st, which is over 50 days before the summer solstice, a little early to call summer in England? We may be inclined to think that these solstesses and equinoxes are the objective universal beginnings and ends of the seasons, but there is no truly objective beginning and end to a season. Their boundaries are subjective, even if we choose to mark them by objective events. Summer, like the other seasons, begins when a culture agrees it does. Historically, the equinoxes and solstesses marked the

middle of a season rather than its beginning, which is why this holiday that falls near the summer solstice is called midsummer. Another figure that one might have encountered on Mayday in England was Jack in the Green. A jack in the green is a figure who wears a wooden or wicker frame which extends from their head to their knees. The frame is decorated with leaves, greenery, and sometimes flowers such that he appears as something like a walking bush. Often these jacks in the green are accompanied by musicians and dancers and can be found participating in parades, dances, and events like these. The origins and initial purpose of Jacks and the Green are rather mysterious. But as English folklorist Roy Judge noted in his book, The Jack and the Green, a Mayday custom, we first hear of them in the 18th century. Judge argues that they likely emerged sometime after the 1770s in connection to parades and dances in

which the participating members of various professions would wear elaborate costumes, which became increasingly elaborate over time. In Ireland, the aisle of man, and part of Scotland, Mayday is known as Beiala, anglicized as Beltaine. Beltain likewise marked the beginning of summer. Here, bonfires were what truly dominated scene. These Beltain fires were not purely recreational, but quite special. They were said to possess supernatural qualities which offered protections and blessings, namely to those who performed specific rituals with them. We first hear of Beltaine in the 10th century AD.

Medieval Irish texts describe a ritual in which Irish herders would light two special bonfires called lucky fires on the night before into the morning of Beltain and pass cattle in between them as a way of endowing them with a magic blessing before they move them into the summer pastures. A tradition which continued into early modern times. Later sources expand on the traditions to increase their supernatural potency. The fires were often sparked in the simplest of ways. from the friction of rubbing wood together. Cows were also sometimes made to leap over lit wood or straw to protect their milk supply from witches and/or entities known as the shi, the name for fairies or nature spirits in Irish mythology. Both of which were believed to be especially active on the night before Beltaine. People too would walk around the Beltaine fire sunrise or leap over them to acrewue a blessing and protection from diseases, poisons,

witchcraft, and all other evil. Though this evolved into something of a game among the young, those who were seeking a blessing from the fire for a specific reason would cross or leap it in a specific way depending on what the reason was. God and Christian figures such as Mary, St. Michael, and St. Bride were sometimes called upon in special prayers over the fire to protect from evil. It was held that all fires in the local area must be extinguished before the lighting of the Beltain fire. Fire from a beltine fire was then taken home on a torch and placed in the hearth to start a new fire which was said to bless the home. However, there was a superstition that for someone to take fire from someone else's fireplace on Beltaine would grant them supernatural power over the occupants of the household from which it was received.

Those who asked for a light on Beltaine were therefore suspected of being witches. The smoke and ashes of Beltaine fires were likewise believed to possess special protective qualities. The ashes were sprinkled over crops soon after the fires were extinguished. In 18th century Scotland, a belief was recorded that if someone present at the lighting of a Beltain fire was guilty of a crime such as murder, adultery, or theft, the Beltain Fire would not retain its supernatural qualities or might not even light at all. Special cakes called Beltaine bennocks were often baked over the fires. Rowan flowers would be hung on cows, on homes, and on milking and buttermaking equipment in the sign of a cross. In Irish folklore, it was held that Irishmen, namely those who had died abroad in places like America might return to visit on Beltaine, and so food was left out for them on dinner tables.

Holy wells, would be visited on Beltain, and like Beltaine fires offered blessings to those who visited. Ronald Hutton notes that the bonfire traditions were absent in England apart from Cumbria and Cornwall. Though as we will discuss later, these customs do very closely resemble those that were seen on St. John's or Midsummer Eve in many cultures including England. Bonfires, however, are present on May Eve in much of Northern Europe outside of Britain. For example, fires likewise define the celebration in Sweden and partly do so in Germany. In regions such as these, Maya Eve is known as Valbbor Vulperisn or in English Walpergus Knight. St.

Walperga was an 8th century Anglo-Saxon Christian missionary active in what is today Germany. She is regarded as a patron saint against plague, rabies, and cough. Her fame is largely attributed to miracles associated with her tomb. In the 9th century, it was said that an oil would drip from her tomb which contained special healing properties. Today, oil is still collected at her shrine to which Christians might make a pilgrimage around this time. St. Wal Perga's feast day today is on the date of her death, February 25th, though it was originally on the date of her canonization and the relocation of her relics, May 1st. And thus, the eve before her feast became Wal Perus Eve or Wal Pergus night. As these dates coincided with May eve and day, her feast day was linked to them, particularly in countries where she remains popular like Germany. The intercession of St. Wal Perga was considered very important on this night.

While Pergus night is likewise held throughout much of the Germanic world and other parts of central Europe to be not only a night of festivity and celebration, but also a night of darkness and supernatural activity. In places such as the Netherlands, it is even referred to as witches night. It was held that witches would convene in the countryside on W Perus night and that their influence would be then the most powerful. Much like in the Gaelic countries, bonfires were lit on W Perus Knight to ward away witches, diseases, and evil influence. People would dress in frightening costumes, make loud, clamorous noise with music, fireworks, and by banging pots and pans together, burn special herbs, circle their settlements, and perform similar rituals to drive away witches and evil spirits.

In Germany and England, May and day are also considered a time for prankery and mischief. The French likewise observed Mayday, though maples have fallen out of style there. A tradition which does survive in France, however, is that of giving lilies of the valley to loved ones on Mayday. Among Catholics, Mayday was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, who was hailed by the church as the Queen of May. Mayday, like each of the holidays on this list, was never popular in America, but it was and still is celebrated there in certain regions.

Some celebrations are modern recreations. Others descend, at least in part, from traditions brought over by European immigrants. The tradition of making May baskets was common in America until the midentth century and in a few areas is still practiced. While Mayday celebrations remain strong in some regions, traditional Mayday is no longer popular in England. Like Christmas, it was suppressed by the Puritans. Though it made a resurgence under Charles II and was especially popular among the Victorians, who were fascinated by subjects like this, it again fell out of fashion in England and many other areas in the 20th century alongside modernization. However, certain regions in England do keep the celebration alive. A famous example is the Abio Festival in the town of Padto in Cornwall. Each Mayday, the town of Padto gathers to celebrate. The defining figure of this festival is the Abby Oas

or the Hobby Horse, a figure found in a number of cultures across Europe after whom the festival is named. Two men dressed as Obiases are led around town by figures known as teasers in separate processions. the old procession and the blue ribbon procession. The procession in which one participates is determined by the number of generations one's family has lived in Padto. The Abby costume consists of a mask, a black horse head, and a circular frame worn over the shoulders over which is draped a black oil skin cape. In the evening after the processions, the authors meet at the town maple and dance together, then retire to their respective symbolic stables, the Golden Lion Inn and the Institute, at which point they die symbolically, only to rise again at midnight on the next Mayday. It is uncertain when Mayday, as we understand it, began. However, the first written records of it appear in the early to

late Middle Ages, depending on the culture. Does Mayday or at least some of its traditions have what could be called pagan origins? That is to say, do they have their origins in the customs and practices of the pre-Christian cultures of Europe? This is a complicated subject that one must be careful with. But the short answer is that there is reason to believe that not everything of course, but some Mayday traditions do predate the Christianization of Europe. One final question before our next holiday. Why is the term Mayday traditionally used for radio distress calls? No relation. It's a homonym which comes from the French Mayday, which literally translates to help me.

One might think that most forgotten holidays were the ones of only minor to moderate importance historically. Overall, this is true, though it is not true of every forgotten holiday, as this video, which focuses specifically on major forgotten holidays, demonstrates. But still, surely nothing as big as Christmas, could have ever been neglected or forgotten. Well, believe it or not, a few of these forgotten holidays were actually for centuries, if not longer, on par with Christmas in terms of their significance and the degree to which they were celebrated.

Our next holiday is an example of this. Because this holiday has significance in the religious practices of many Christians, it is one which a large number of people have at least likely heard of. However, few people today think much of it outside of church, and would be surprised to learn that it was once a very big event, even in some periods, one of the biggest holidays of the year. It's called Pentecost, also known as Witson. To understand Pentecost, we have to start with Easter and briefly mention a related holiday along the way called Ascension Day. Easter is a holiday which commemorates the resurrection of Christ.

According to the Bible, specifically the first two chapters of the Acts of the Apostles, after Jesus rose from the dead, he remained on the earth for 40 days. On the 40th day, he gathered his disciples and instructed them to remain in Jerusalem until the Holy Ghost came to visit them and baptize them. He then told his disciples that the Holy Ghost will empower them and that they will be his witnesses to the ends of the earth. Then Jesus rose into the sky and ascended into heaven in front of them, disappearing behind a cloud. Later the Bible says that 10 days after on the 50th day after his resurrection on the Jewish holiday of Shabawat, his disciples Mary and other followers were gathered in a house in Jerusalem when a great wind from the sky rushed in and blew throughout the house. Then what the Bible describes as tongues of fire appeared, parted and came to rest on each of those gathered. They were then

each filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak in different tongues. The followers of Christ then went out into the city in which Jews from all over the known world had gathered for Shabuawat and they began to preach. Everyone in the crowd miraculously heard this preaching in their own native language. This event is considered by most Christians to be the birthday of the church. Each of these events is commemorated on the lurggical or church calendar which many Christian denominations follow their own version of including Catholics, the Eastern Orthodox Lutheran Anglicans Methodists, Presbyterians, and others.

In these denominations, Easter begins the Easter season called the Easter Tide. Easter tide ends on the 50th day after Easter with Easter included in the count. The 40th day of Easter Tide is the aforementioned Ascension Day or Ascension Thursday, which commemorates Jesus's ascension into heaven. The 50th day of Easter Tide is Pentecost, which commemorates the ascent of the Holy Ghost onto the disciples and the beginning of the church, which has just been described. Because the date of Easter, of course, changes each year.

Ascension Day and Pentecost move with it. In 2026, Easter is on April 5th in Western Christianity. Therefore, Ascension Day is on May 14th and Pentecost is on May 24th. Easter seems to have become a holiday very quickly. Not only is it mentioned by a Christian bishop from Anatolia named Molo of Sardis in one of his homalies from the 2n century AD when Christianity was still a relatively small religion with only a few hundred,000 followers at most. But he speaks of it in a way which suggests widespread familiarity among his audience with what it was suggesting Easter was firmly established by this point. Celebration of Pentecost seems to have followed not far behind. Pentecost was also mentioned in the second century first in the epistula apostoum. Although originally Pentecost referred to the entire 50-day period after Easter, not just the 50th day itself. The word Pentecost comes from the coin Greek

Pentecost meaning 50th day. The holiday was a major event by the fifth century at the latest. As Christianity spread, Pentecost remained a significant day in the religion. In the Middle Ages, however, it was not only a day of religious significance, but would incorporate many unique traditions, events, and folklore into it. Pentecost always falls on a Sunday. However, Pentecost Monday was historically what is called a holy day of obligation. A holy day of obligation is a day which, long story short, is to be treated like a Sunday. The day most Western Christians consider the Sabbath regardless of when it falls. This means that not only was attending mass obligatory, but also that work, chores, and business were forbidden unless they were truly necessary, like feeding livestock or guarding a settlement or an emergency. Alongside these two holy days, it was common for people in the Middle Ages to be given a few more days,

if not the whole week that followed, off of work. Pentecost can fall on any date between May 10th and June 13th. Thus, with as much as a week off of work at a time when the weather had become reliably clement, things were shaping up for Pentecost to become a big celebration. In England, Pentecost Sunday would kick off an entire week of recreation and festivities, namely parades, games, special events, fairs, and things like these. This week was known as witent tide in England as the name for Pentecost Sunday in England was witson a term still used in England and by groups like Anglicans and Methodists even outside of Britain to this day. It is a contraction of white Sunday. The term was in place by the 11th century though it's not clear where it came from. The traditional color associated with Pentecost in Western Christianity at least is red. Priests and pastors may wear red vestments, red decorations like

banners, cloths, and flowers adorned Christian churches and homes. And Christians themselves may even wear red on Pentecost. One popular hypothesis is that because Pentecost became a day associated with baptisms, the term white Sunday might have referred to numbers of newly baptized Christians who wore white robes on this day following their baptisms. The problem with this hypothesis is that it implies mass adult baptisms when infant baptism, which occurred within weeks of birth, not typically delayed until the holiday unless it was close, was the norm in England from the early Middle Ages onward. One possible explanation is that it dates the times of the Anglo-Saxon conversions when there would have been crowds of adults being baptized all at once and then dressed in white robes, though it is not certain. Witson, like nearly all holidays, was defined partially by the season in which it fell

and amplified the joys of that season. Indeed, certain sources give the impression that it was often the summer holiday. The food that was eaten was the food that would have been available at that time of year. Things like strawberries custards gooseberries cheesecake, roasted meat, especially ve and mutton, and pies had a particular presence. An article published on church times discussed a historic lincolnure witson cake made using black currants, saffron, allspice and nutmeg. Witson ales or parish ales were a common witson tradition. In this context, the word ale refers to an event of ale drinking. In this case, much like a party or affair, these ales might have included a feast, music, dancing, and games as well. These events were often organized by local parishes and held in nearby barns or churchyards. The church wardens would generally sell the ale themselves, often for the purpose of fundraising for the

church or the poor. Ronald Hutton notes in the book The Stations of the Sun that wits on ALS were often the largest single sources of revenue for churches in the entire year. He also notes that people would sometimes go on ale crawls, traveling to ALS held in multiple different settlements throughout the holiday. Accounts describing Witson ales in the early 1800s mention that it was common for a Witson Lord and sometimes lady to be crowned prior to the ale who would dress accordingly and hold a place of honor at it. Others would sometimes be nominated alongside them for various other noble roles such as swordbearer, steward, mace bearer, jester, etc. These nobility for the day would then preside over the dancing events and festivities.

If the nominee refused, they would have to pay a fine to the parish. An article published in 1870 by the Manchester Times describes the scene of a Witson ale. Quote, "The ordinary official givers of the church ale were two wardens who, after collecting subscriptions and money or kind from every one of their fairly wellto-do parishioners, provided a revel that not infrequently passed the wake in costliness and diversity of amusements. The board at which everyone received a welcome who could pay for his entertainment was loaded with good cheer. And after the feasters had eaten and drunk to contentment, if not to excess, they took part in sport on the turf of the churchyard or on the sword of the village green. The athletes of the parish distinguished themselves in wrestling, boxing, quite throwing. The children cheered the mummers in the Morris dancers, and round a maple decorated with ribbons. The lads and

lasses plied their nimble feet to the music of the fifs, bagpipes, drums, and fiddles. When they had wearied themselves by exercise, the revelers returned to the replenished board, and not seldom, the feast designed to begin and end in a day was protracted into a demoralizing debauch of a weeks or even a month's duration. End quote. In this quote, we see a number of things that we saw on Mayday like the Mayole and Morris dancing continuing to or being repeated on Witson. Morris dancing in particular was strongly associated with Witson.

Why? As mentioned, Morris dancing was seen on a number of holidays. But as for the other similarities, we prefer to view each holiday as a distinct event with its own unique static traditions celebrated at specific times for unique purposes. And this is true of people throughout history as well. And for good reason. For the most part, this is how they are. If the holidays are not distinguished from each other by unique traditions and customs, then there is only one holiday which simply falls multiple times a year. However, as this video demonstrates, preodern people celebrated more holidays than people today do, and those that were close together could bleed into each other somewhat. As Witson can fall as early as May 10th, Mayday and Witson would be separated by just a little over a week in some years. The maples erected on Mayday, for example, would often still be up and used on Witson. Archery and

archery competitions are mentioned frequently as events which occurred on this day as well. Kursel Moore near Manchester would host huge races during wits and tide in the 16th century. Young men would often give special young ladies ribbons or sweets at wits and nails. Weddings were often encouraged during wits and tide. Christians would climb to the highest point in their area early on Pentecost morning to pray. The dew on the grass of a Pentecost morning was thought to have a special healing power. People would walk through the grass barefoot to obtain its blessings and collect it on bread to feed to their animals. Children would traditionally be given new pairs of clothes on Witson. It was especially important to wear your best clothing during wit walks. Wit walks were another major wits and tide tradition still held in some areas to this day. These were parades or processions held by churches, schools,

andor communities. These featured religious imagery, banners, flowers, music, etc. By the 19th century, these seem to have become somewhat competitive. For example, at the end of the processions, each school or church's brass band would meet and play against each other in a great contest. Another noteworthy event was cheese rolling. This event, still held in Gloucester to this day, involved competitors racing to catch a cheese wheel that was rolled down a hill. According to the website Visit Gloucester, these wheels could reach speeds of 70 mph. The first to reach the cheese at the bottom was the winner and got to keep the cheese.

Reportedly, there were and are usually injuries. Another similarly interesting activity recorded in the 18th century was to grease up a pig or a ram and chase it. Whoever captured it kept it. You may party. You might even claim to party hard. But have you ever drunkenly chased lightning fast cheese down a hill or wrestled a greased up pig on a wit Monday? Pentecost was by no means unique to England with similar traditions across much of Europe. Indeed, Pentecost Monday remains an official holiday in many countries across the world to this day.

In France, trumpets are traditionally blown on Pentecost to symbolize the arrival of the Holy Ghost. In Austria and Germany, specifically Bavaria, special religious processions may occur on horseback. Pentecost was never popular in the United States, though it was known and observed in some cases from the country's beginning. In a letter to Jonathan Bucher from George Washington in April of 1769, a few years before the revolution, Washington makes a mention of the Witson holidays. Certain immigrant groups did carry their Pentecost traditions over and retain them in America for a time. For example, in Pennsylvania, Dutch country, German immigrants celebrated the tradition which English-American onlookers referred to as the Dutch 4th of July. In this case, Dutch meaning German. Long story. African-Amean communities in New York in the late 18th and early 19th centuries observed a tradition called

Pinkster, which came from the Dutch, the Netherlands Dutch Pentecost celebration. Many cathedrals in Europe have a distinctive decorated hole in their ceilings. These are called holy ghost holes. Historically during Pentecost mass, these openings would be decorated even further and dove figurines, if not live doves, would be lowered or released through them over the congregations to symbolize the tongues of fire. Rose petals or burning oak would also be dropped through the opening. This is most famously done today in Italy on Pentecost in the oculus of the pantheon from which rose petals are dropped each year. Wooden doves have likewise been a common Pentecost decoration and were sometimes hung above dining tables.

Pentecost was in some circumstances believed to be a time of magic and supernatural activity. And though there is a great joyousness to the holiday, not all of this mythology was pleasant. In Ireland, for example, while Pentecost was celebrated much as it was in England, Pentecost Sunday specifically was considered by some to be unlucky, even dangerously so. It was sometimes held that swimming, sailing, or even to be near water on Pentecost Sunday was dangerous. For it was on Pentecost that the spirits of the drowned would rise from their watery graves and attempt to bring the living to join them. In Germany, it was sometimes held that the deceased who had committed grave sins, but were not quite deserving of hell, would sometimes remain bound to the earth as an entity known as a foyaman, a flame man or a flame spirit for a period of time in a kind of earthly purgatory.

These melancholic, repentant, fiery spirits would wander the night and potentially assist lost travelers in exchange for a coin or a blessing. Pentecost was believed to be one time among others like Advent and Lent in which flame spirits were the most likely to be seen. Pentecost has repeated significance in Arththerian legend. For example, in Leortur, it is written that Arthur would gather his knights on Pentecost. They would then renew their oath to him and prepare to embark on a quest. It was on the eve of Pentecost that they received the vision of the Holy Grail and vowed to find it.

Pentecost is still observed in some places more than others. Witson in the United Kingdom fell out of fashion only recently within living memory. In fact, Wit Monday was actually a public holiday in the United Kingdom until 1972 when it was renamed to the Spring Bank holiday and fixed to the last Monday in May. Similar happened in Ireland. Holidays. The vast majority of cultures around the world and throughout recorded history have had them in some form. To many, they are fundamental to the yearly cycle. In many Western countries, for example, it's difficult to imagine December passing by without anyone noticing Christmas. Christmas is simply something we do, something we've always done, and presumably something we always will do. But what if I told you that even Christmas itself was almost forgotten in countries like America and Britain? Yes, that's correct. Though Christmas dates to at least the 4th

century, AD, the holiday celebration started to fade in popularity in the 17th century. Not many people celebrated Christmas in the US or British Empire in the 18th century. We have the Victorians to thank for rescuing it in the 19th century. Alas, not every holiday was so lucky. Even some which were not so very long ago, perhaps as popular as Christmas, are today forgotten, obscure, not even getting an honorable mention on the vast majority of calendars. One such holiday quietly passes each September 29th. It's called Miklmiss. In this video, we're going to talk about what Miklmiss was, why it was important, and why it may have disappeared. So, let's get to it.

How old art thou, Francis? Oh, let me see. About next Miklmiss I shall be. These lines are from Shakespeare's Henry IV. In it, the characters reference Miklmus. Shakespeare doesn't say much about it, but he doesn't have to. Though Francis doesn't finish, he's using it as a simple reference point for the date of his birth because everyone of his age knew what and when Miklmus was. The same way we might say, "Oh, he'll be 40 around Christmas." Though the name is pronounced Michael in English, the correct pronunciation of the holiday is Miklmiss for Michael's mass, a bit like Christmas rather than Christ mass. So who is Michael or Mikl.

This refers to an important figure in Christian and more broadly Abrahamic belief, St. Michael the Archangel. Though not frequently mentioned in scripture, St. Michael the Archangel's roles are many. He is primarily known as the angel who defeated Satan in the war in heaven. According to the book of Revelation, this war began when Satan believed himself able to challenge God and taking the form of a serpent set out to do so alongside his followers. However, Michael and his angels were there to challenge them. They defeated Satan and his followers and cast them out from heaven and onto the earth. It is said that the battlecry of Michael and his army was who is like God. In Hebrew, this is translated as Mikael. It is a rhetorical question posed to Satan.

The answer being that none could be. Michael has an important place in many Christian denominations. He is regarded as a warrior and protector and a chief executor of God's will. Naturally, he has become the patron saint of many looking to such a figure such as warriors and police officers. He is also regarded as the defender of the church and is said to guard souls from Satan on the hour of death. In some Christian denominations, saints are venerated and are even prayed to because they are believed to be closer to God and have more direct communication with him. But while their deeds and services are celebrated, they themselves are not worshiped, which is an important distinction for understanding this holiday. In the Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches, Miklmiss is St.

Michael's feast day. The Eastern Orthodox Church has an equivalent in November. A feast day refers to a day dedicated to a given saint on the lurggical or church calendar. It doesn't refer to a day on which to eat a large meal. Although, as we'll see, that was something that took place on Miklmiss. The holiday appears to have its origins in the very early Middle Ages when a basilica in Rome was dedicated to St. Michael on September 30th. Celebration occurred the evening before and thus the date of September 29th came to be dedicated to him.

For several reasons, including the popularity of the figure, Miklmiss gained quite a bit of importance throughout medieval christrysendom, especially in Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia, the Baltic, and much of central Europe in particular. It became a holy day of obligation. That is to say, a day on which Christians were expected to attend mass and abstain from unnecessary work. Basically, a day treated like a Sunday regardless of when it fell. Religious processions were sometimes held and pilgrimages were sometimes made to holy sites associated with St. Michael. Furthermore, like many holidays of autumn, Miklmiss's placement in late September made it ideally situated to become a harvest celebration. In some countries, this led to Miklmiss becoming what was called a quarter day. Outside of their religious significance, quarter days were days which had a lot of worldly importance.

As you might expect, there were four quarter days throughout the year, each placed roughly around the solstesses and equinoxes. In England, Wales, and Ireland, but not Scotland. Alongside Miklmus, these were Lady Day, March 25th, also called Annunciation Day, which actually marked the beginning of the year there until 1752. Midsummer, also called St. John the Baptist Day, June 24th, and Christmas, December 25th. These holidays were celebrated in Scotland. They just weren't the Scottish quarter days. Anyway, in places like medieval and early modern England, quarter days were dates on which many things, typically things involving business, law, education, etc., met a deadline or commenced. For example, things like rent would be due on these days. Leases would begin or end. Other debts were expected to be paid. Laws were sometimes enacted. And land was exchanged. People would seek employment

for or be released from a job. Political terms and university terms would sometimes begin and end around the quarter days as well. Miklmus was also in good years a time of festivity. The exact activities varied across time and place, but at its core, it probably was not very unlike something like Easter, Christmas or Thanksgiving. Families, friends, and communities would come together for quality time, games, feasting, fairs, and parades, plays, and general marrynt. So, with all this in mind, you can imagine what Miklmiss might have been like. Late September was and is a time in which autumn really begins to show itself in many parts of the northern hemisphere. It's when the mood of the world really begins to shift. The skies cloud. The days become noticeably shorter. The air cools. Every living creature from the smallest of animals to the tallest of trees reacts accordingly and begins to behave

differently to prepare itself for what's to come. Likewise, you and your community would have been looking towards the coming hardships as well and getting your affairs in order before the coming of the season. If you had had a prosperous year, this would have been a time to celebrate and give thanks to God. If the year had been unfruitful, then this would be a time to look even more closely to God and his servants for protection, although hardships doubtlessly awaited regardless of the quality of the year. At the center of a Miklmiss feast in Britain, Ireland, and Germany, one could expect to find roast goose. Eating a goose on Mikkelmiss is said to bring good fortune. There was a saying which goes, "Eat a goose on Miklmiss day. Want not for money all the year." Another food strongly associated with Miklmiss are blackberries. There is actually a legend in British and Irish folklore which maintains that old

Miklmus day or September 29th on the Julian calendar which is October 11th on the calendar we use today, the Gregorian is the last day to pick blackberries. The legend holds that when Satan was cast out of heaven, he landed on a blackberry bush. In his rage, he destroyed the fruit, scorching and spitting on the berries. As a result, it's held that one ought not eat blackberries after the state. Whether you believe the legend or not, blackberries really aren't ideally picked after the state anyway. In Ireland and Northern Scotland in particular, special cakes called Michlmispanics, also called the straw, made of things like a mix of rye, barley, oats, fruits, honey, and sheep's milk were also made and consumed.

Miklmus banics were traditionally to be made by the eldest daughter of the family and marked with a cross. Special banics were sometimes made in honor of the dead, blessed at mass, and given to the poor in their name. Silver coins were sometimes hidden in these banics for children to find. It was considered bad luck if the cake broke before eating. Because Miklmus fell in a time of changing seasons, people developed folkloric methods of predicting the future weather on this date. In Britain and Ireland, it was said that if ducks do slide at Mikkelmiss, at Christmas they will swim. If ducks do swim at Miklmiss, at Christmas they will slide.

In other words, clear weather on Miklmiss was a sign of a harsh winter and vice versa. As far as decorations and symbols are concerned, the most prominent is the aster, also called a michlm daisy. Miklm daisies, which bloom in the late summer and early fall, tend to be purple or pink. Children would sometimes make chains of them to wear. Them miss daisies among dead weeds bloom for St. Michael's valerous deeds, and seems the last of the flowers that stood till the feast of St. Simon and St. Jude. Other colors associated with the holiday are blue and white colors related to St. Michael. In the town of Kderminster, England, a fascinating tradition developed around Miklmiss. On the Monday after Mikkelmiss at 12 p.m., the old town constable would step down.

The new one would take office around 100 p.m. This led to an hour in between in which there was technically no constable, which the citizens referred to as lawless hour. I didn't find any records of anyone trying to use this hour to commit any major crimes. It of course wasn't actually lawless, but it seems there was traditionally a massive food fight in this hour in which people threw fruits and vegetables at each other. This practice died down in the Victorian era. Did this holiday make its way to places like the British colonies in the Americas? Yes, but it doesn't seem to have been celebrated to quite the same extent. I found all kinds of documents from the founding fathers, especially talking about Miklmiss before and immediately after the revolution, but it's almost exclusively referred to as a term day for legal, financial, and educational matters, which is what you would expect from this particular group.

For example, John Quincy Adams wrote to his mother Abigail a few times talking about his kids being on Miklmiss break from school. George Washington paid fees over the years prior to the revolution that were listed as due by Miklmiss. The first United States Congress actually adjourned on Miklmiss etc. It does seem that the holiday tradition was brought over but it didn't quite take root by the time holidays started becoming more popular in America in the late 19th century. However, Miklmiss seems to have been well remembered in Britain and Ireland into the early 20th century. As popular as Miklmiss was, one day its popularity began to decline. Why exactly this happened is a bit of a mystery.

Understanding where, when, and why these holidays and their traditions begin is not very straightforward. Understanding their disappearance can be just as difficult. Perhaps we can turn to the history of comparative holidays like Christmas to answer this question. For various reasons, including the commonplace debauchery and its connections to the traditional Catholic and Anglican order, preodern Christmas, as I mentioned, was disliked by the Puritans and some other reformist Protestant groups of Britain and the United States. This led to Christmas suffering short-term bans. The bands didn't work, but for decades, centuries even, the popularity of Christmas declined significantly compared to days past. Miklmiss was almost certainly affected by this great cultural debate as well. Similar things occurred outside of Britain. In the 1770s, in many Scandinavian and German countries, there were actually official measures taken to

regulate and reduce the number of holidays being celebrated. Miklmiss is generally found on a list of holidays of these reforms in these countries along with holidays like Epiphany, Candmiss, Pentecost, St. John's and All Saints Day. This decision was motivated partly by the concerns of Protestant reformers, but also seems to have had backing from the proponents of secularization and enlightenment philosophy and the governments of these countries looking to reduce the number of days off. Industrialism may have also played a role as people moved from agricultural environments to urban environments. More and more the traditions and customs associated with an agricultural lifestyle like harvest festivals which Miklmus partly was became increasingly forgotten. Furthermore, the use of quarter days declined in general as well. But then why wasn't Miklmus revived and/or modernized? Again, several potential reasons come to mind.

One is that it's possible that the best chance of a kind of Miklmus revival would have actually come from the United States. It is the case that despite their much older European origins, some holidays like Halloween or St. Patrick's Day probably only have global fame because of American influence. In America though, Halloween and especially Thanksgiving may have taken the place of Miklmus, preventing interest in its revival. Thanksgiving and Miklmiss do after all have a lot in common. These are hypotheses and they're by no means the only possibilities. But what is known factually is that Miklmiss did not die out everywhere. It is alive and well in certain areas across Europe and even abroad. For example, in the city of Agsburg, Germany, the Turikola Fest or Tower of Michael Festival is still going on after 500 years. Every hour on the perilock clock tower, a St. Michael figure strikes Satan with a lance each

time the bell tolls. Another example is the custom of goose day in Lewis Town, Pennsylvania. Miklmus also still carries religious significance in the affforementioned churches. However, in the 18th century, it lost its status as a holy day of obligation. Perhaps you have heard of a modern tradition called Christmas in summer. In America, for example, we have Christmas in July. Long story short, it's simply Christmas copied and pasted into July for the sake of having a holiday in a period in which there is a lull in holidays. But what if I told you that there used to be a real Christmas and summer? Well, it wasn't actually Christmas and summer, but it was a major holiday. One of the most major of the year, in fact, celebrated in June by the same cultures that celebrated Christmas.

The holiday stretched back to the early Middle Ages and was observed for well over a thousand years, declining in popularity only relatively recently. It's called St. John the Baptist's Day, also known as Midsummer, and it falls each year on June 24th. Ladies and gentlemen, hello and welcome to Fire of Learning. In this video, we're going to be talking about the history and practices of this holiday. How it was celebrated, the legends associated with it, the food that was eaten, why it may have disappeared, where it didn't disappear, and more.

Many, especially in the English-speaking world, were probably first introduced to the Festival of Midsummer through the 2019 film Midsummer. Thus, I'd like to make it clear from the start that that movie is a horror movie about a fictional cult, not a factual representation of Midsummer. In fact, the movie has little to do with the real generally quite lighthearted and fun celebration. But there are some elements within the movie that are representations of real customs of this holiday celebrated not only in Sweden but other countries as well and not very long ago across Europe in various forms.

To begin, let's ask who is the St. John of St. John's Day? His full story is too long to tell here, but in summary, St. John the Baptist was Jesus's second cousin, the son of Mary's cousin Elizabeth, and her husband Zachchariah. He is believed to have been chosen as the prophet who was to immediately precede the Messiah to prepare the way for him. In the Bible, it is said that John foretold that Christ was soon to come and directed his followers to follow Christ after his baptism, a baptism which John the Baptist himself performed. He was later executed by King Herod and his niece wife Herodiius for his criticism of their marriage which he believed violated God's law. June 24th is St. John's feast day. The day is observed by various Christian groups such as Catholics, the Eastern Orthodox, and some Protestant denominations such as Anglicans and Lutherans. His feast day was placed on June 24th because

early Christian scholars marked it as his birthday. We'll talk about why later. Importantly, St. John is not worshiped on this day. He and his deeds are celebrated. St. John's feast day was established as late as the 4th century AD in the latter ages of the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire fell in the west, but Christianity and with it St. John's Day endured and would further spread gradually throughout the centuries. The holiday would take on more and more importance. While the date would retain its religious importance throughout much of its history, it would also begin to take on a much broader cultural meaning in this time. Midsummer became a day of festivity and secular customs alongside its religious aspects, much like Christmas, although we do not know much about these early celebrations. Furthermore, of course, celebrations varied across time and to this day vary across cultures. St.

John's Day is on June 24th, but celebration could last for days before and after this day. St. John's Eve, also called Midsummer Eve, June 23rd, was a date of equal importance. Often celebrations would begin on St. John's Eve. The joint feast day of Saints Peter and Paul, June 29th, and thus the evening of June 28th, were often included in the celebration period as well. This was a special time for Europeans. It was the height of the warmer season near the summer solstice, thus the name midsummer. It fell in the middle of the agricultural cycle in between the spring sewing and summer haymaking in Northern Europe. It was a time to take a break. It was a time for parties, family, friends, and community, for feasting, music, and games. It was a time for reverence to God, and for age-old traditions. It was also, as we shall see, a time for folklore and superstition. Many believed that on Midsummer Eve, magic and the

supernatural were all the more abundant in our world. While traditions vary, some things are universal. One of the central elements of a St. John's Day celebration is fire. From Ireland to Finland to Spain to Greece, bonfires were often lit on St. John's Eve at sunset and kept throughout the night into early midsummer morning. These included both family and large communal fires. There was emphasis on these communal fires being lit on mountains and hilltops in some areas and on beaches and along rivers in others. But a St. John's fire could be lit anywhere, even the center of town. It is recorded that the English kings Henry VIIth and Henry VIII ordered the construction of Midsummer bonfires in their great halls. Often the lighting of the fire would be preceded by speeches and prayers. In some cases, the oldest present was tasked with lighting the fire while the youngest would throw in animal bone into it. This would be

followed by a number of other rituals and the affforementioned merrymaking. A central tradition found all across Europe was to jump over the fires. Doing so is said to bring good luck. Weeds and old furniture were often tossed into the fires. Animal bones were often included as fuel for the fires, which is where we get the term bonfire from bonefire. It was also believed that holy objects such as old rosary beads could be destroyed in St. John's fires without disrespect. As the fires wound down, its embers and ashes might be distributed to the members of the community who believed these remnants to have special properties. The following morning, in many areas, cattle would be driven through the remaining ashes, and the ashes would be spread on the crops for good luck. Another fiery Midsummer tradition found in multiple areas involved rolling a cartwheel covered with straw up a hill, setting it ablaze,

then letting it loose to roll downhill. A description of such a practice from Wales in the 1820s states that if the fire went out before the wheel reached the bottom of the hill, it was a sign of a poor harvest to come. But if it stayed lit all the way down, a bountiful harvest could be expected. As festive as these rituals were, they were also matters of seriousness. Midsummer was the time just before the crops and livestock would be the most sensitive to disease. Likewise, diseases like plague and malaria would be worse for humans in the late summer. Traditions like these connected to Christian belief in some circumstances, but also to a belief in folk magic and others with an emphasis on blessing the food supply and protection against harm were reflective of real anxieties people had at this time of year. Throughout Europe, religious processions and plays focusing on the life of St. John were common on

the streets around this time. Fairs and parades were also common. With the introduction of fireworks to Europe in the late Middle Ages, they were very naturally associated with the holiday in places like Italy. Swimming and other customs involving going into or at least to the water were also ubiquitous, not only because it was summer, but also in reference to St. John the Baptist's role as a Baptist as well. As far back as the 14th century, for example, Petrarch records a custom of German women rinsing their hands in the Ry River to wash away bad luck on this date. The decorations for Midsummer emphasize the liveless of the summer season, incorporating a colorful variety of flowers and plants.

One particular example is St. John's wart, a herb which tends to flower around St. John's Day, thus the name. Women in many countries such as Poland wear crowns of flowers on their heads which they may toss into a local body of water for the men to jump in and race to retrieve. Men sometimes wear crowns of leaves. In Sweden, a mapole is often erected on Midsummer. The 15th century English historian John Stowe wrote of St. John's Day emphasizing the social nature of the celebration, suggesting it was a community building event in which people were encouraged to socialize and make friends with other members of the community. Multiple accounts describe a custom of hosts, typically the wealthier, leaving food like meat or sweet bread and drink out for strangers, often the impoverished, and inviting them to sit with them or even to come inside their homes and dine with them. Speaking of food, there are a

wide array of foods popular on St. John's. As you might expect, many of these involve fruits and other foods available during early summer. In Sweden, wild strawberries, which are different from garden strawberries, are easily found around midsummer. They are picked and gathered on straws and also included in numerous dishes such as yorub stoa, a kind of strawberry and cream cake. In Ireland, a simple dessert called Goodie was popular on St. John's Eve made from breadcrumbs, milk, sugar, and spices boiled together, often over the St. John's fire itself. Fish and potatoes were also eaten by several cultures at this time. In Spain, specifically areas such as Catalonia, one may find the cocoa de Sanuan. Cocoa refers to a broad variety of pastries.

The cocoa des Sanuan is often made with things like pine nuts and candied fruits. As mentioned, there is a magical aspect to this holiday, somewhat like Halloween or Christmas, perhaps something in between the two. St. John's Eve was regarded as a night in which the mystical and the supernatural were all the more abundant in our world. Indeed, the bonfires were sometimes said to be lit for the purpose of driving evil spirits, witches, dragons, and the like away. Herbs like St. John's wart, if picked on St. John's Eve especially, were said to have much more potent healing powers. Hanging it on a building could keep evil spirits away. Across Europe, one could find willow wisps appearing on Midsummer Eve, especially if a person located a mythical flowering fern. Magical charms were said to manifest in hidden locations, such as rings made by snakes that granted its wearer things like wealth, power, or

invisibility. An English legend states that there is an ancient oak tree in Broadwater in West Sussex around which a group of skeletons can be observed on Midsummer Eve dancing until dawn. It was said in Ireland that if a house lay in the path of fairies, midnight noises and supernatural manifestations would be experienced by the inhabitants on Midsummer Eve. As far back as the Middle Ages, divination rituals or futureelling were popular on the holiday. Many such rituals focused on love. Because of the supernatural aura surrounding the holiday, such rituals were deemed all the more potent. There are far too many examples to list them all out, but a typical one can be observed in Sweden to this day. The tradition involves a girl picking special flowers, usually seven, and placing them under her pillow on Midsummer Eve. While she sleeps, it is said that the face of the man she will one day marry will appear in her dreams.

This tradition was once common across Germanic countries like England. Yero, sweet Yuro, the first that I have found. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pluck it from the ground. As Joseph loved sweet Mary and took her for his dear. So, in a dream this night, I hope my true love will appear. A similar English tradition involved three girls baking what is called a dumb cake. Dumb in this case means silent, not stupid. So named because the girls who bake the cake together must remain completely silent without even a whisper throughout its preparation. Only two of the girls are actually meant to bake the cake. The third is tasked with placing pieces of it under each of their pillows. Like the flower tradition, they are said to dream of their future husbands after having done so. Not every divination ritual pertained to love. However, for example, another legend held that if one fasted all day on Midsummer Eve, then sat by

their local church at midnight, they would see the spirits of those who were to die in the coming year appear, walk up to the church door, and knock on it in the order in which they were to die. This was also done on St. Mark's Eve, April 24th. By the later Middle Ages, Midsummer had become a quarter day in countries like England. The early church believed June 24th was St. John's birthday because the Gospel of Luke explicitly states that St. John was conceived 6 months before Christ. The Bible doesn't say when exactly either of these dates were. But because early Christian scholars believed he was conceived around Passover on the enunciation day I just mentioned, March 25th, they marked the birth 9 months after. Thus, St. John's day fell 6 months before December 25th or June 24th. But why the 24th and not the 25th?

The answer isn't clear, but it may relate to how the Romans counted dates. Christmas was placed on the 8th day before the kalins or the first day of the month of January. St. John's Day may have followed suit being placed on the 8th day before the kalins of July, but as there are only 30 days in June, this would place it a day earlier. St. John's Day is still celebrated in places like Cornwall, which revived it, Scandinavia, the Baltic, Southern Europe, and even places outside Europe, like the Philippines, and much of Latin America.

In Quebec, the holiday is quite popular, though it has been separated from many of its religious and folk customs and is mostly a patriotic festival. There are still some celebrations in areas of countries like the UK, Ireland, France, and Germany, but they are much less common than they once were, having slowly faded away over the course of centuries. In places like the United States and Oceanania, the holiday is almost totally unheard of, apart from a few small scattered exceptions. There is a record from an elderly man from Limmerick, Ireland, presented in the book, The Year in Ireland by Kevin Danaher, which discusses celebrating Midsummer written in 1943. The author speaks of it largely as a memory which their elders told them about and says that the remaining traditions were mostly only observed by children by that point. This suggests it faded in popularity only in the late 19th and

early 20th century in some areas. But if Christmas was swept up into all of this, too, why wasn't Midsummer revived like Christmas was? Again, it's difficult to say. Part of the answer might actually lie in the United States. Many European holidays were revived and even globalized, at least in part because of American influence. The most glaring explanation for why Americans never developed an interest in St. John's Day is that it falls too close to Independence Day on July 4th. The two holidays certainly aren't the same thing, but they do have enough in common to where any immigrants pining for a St.

John's Day celebration were probably satisfied with exchanging it for the great summer festival already in place in America only a week and a half later. Ah, the holidays. We love them. We devote a great deal of time and energy to them. And stressful though they may sometimes be, in the end, it's all worth it. Holidays are days dedicated to the things we cherish most. They are excuses for family and friends to be together and for our better natures to emerge, and as a result, they are often the high points of the year and the setting for many of our fondest memories. If only every day could be a holiday. Although if that were the case, then they wouldn't be special. But then their purpose is often to renew a spirit or perspective that is meant to be carried throughout the year. No doubt people of the past felt the same way about these holidays as they still do in the areas which have retained them. The

Witsale, the St. John's Eve fire, and the Miklmiss feast were doubtlessly as special to the people of the past, sometimes the notsodistant past, as our holiday traditions are to us. Perhaps then to truly understand people throughout history, to come as close as we can to seeing the world through their eyes, we must understand their most important days and what they meant to them. We hope you enjoyed this video. If so, we invite you to come check out the rest of Fire of Learning and to subscribe to see more videos like this in the future. To support the channel, there is a link to our Patreon in the description. A special thanks to our current supporters listed here. Thank you for watching.

Questions about this episode

What is discussed in "The Holidays We Forgot About - Documentary"?

In order: 0:00 Martyra, Shrove Tuesday, Christmas Town, The Nightmare Before Christmas; 10:00 Martyra, Shrove Tuesday; 20:00 Ronald Hutton, The Stations of the Sun; 30:00 Cornwall, Ronald Hutton; 40:00 Ronald Hutton, The Stations of the Sun; 1:20:00 Cornwall, Kevin Danaher, Limmerick, Oceanania.

What is mentioned in this Fire of Learning episode?

13 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Martyra, Shrove Tuesday, Ronald Hutton, Cornwall, The Stations of the Sun, The Nightmare Before Christmas. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "The Holidays We Forgot About - Documentary"?

The episode runs 1 h 26 min; the transcript is about 14,279 words in 105 timestamped sections.

More from Fire of Learning

About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated January 24, 2026.