American Reacts to Top 10 British Customs That Confuse Everyone Else!
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- Опубліковано 15 лип 2024
- Lets dive into the peculiar world of British customs! From horse skulls to magpie curses, we'll unravel the charmingly confusing aspects of British culture.
Original Video: • Top 10 British Customs...
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Terry Pratchett once wrote that the reason that Morris Dancers wear bells on their shoes is to prevent them creeping up on you and inflicting an unexpected Morris Dance on you.
He was an amazing writer. My favourite line was that the circus tent burned down because the fire eater was sick 😂
The best thing about Morris dancers is that they almost always put up a hand-drawn poster telling you which pub car park they will be performing on and when. This, of course, means you can plan to be at another pub at that time!
And yet an over 6ft tall Morris Dancer mascot that was a Blue Bird still managed to sneak up behind me in Chester last summer!
@@alisoncassidy3255 Pratchett also said that if it happens to a woman it can be classed as sexual morrisment
@davidcronan4072 😂 Not quite that bad but it did startle me! (I now feel an urge to reread Lords and Ladies)
"10 British things that confuse everyone else!"
Me as a Dutchman: "A cheese race? Sounds glorious."
So just the hill with a 1:2 gradient that will confuse you then...
It had to be said, sorry not sorry!🤣
Gouda chasing😊
@@davehoward22I doubt I would risk it for Gouda
@@paidwitness797 A hill? What is that?
I know the Netherlands is gloriously flat, but the hill that the double Glostershire cheese is chased down could kill you!@@LalaDepala_00
1 for sorrow
2 for joy
3 for a girl
4 for a boy
5 for silver
6 for gold
7 for a secret, never to be told.
8 for a wish
9 for a kiss
10 a surprise you should be careful not to miss,
11 for health,
12 for wealth,
13 beware it’s the devil himself.
I saw someone had written this rhyme - which I had only known up to 7 - right up to 20😮 (but sadly my intermittent memory does not allow an ability to recite it!)😢 🏴🙂❤️🖖
I’ve heard 1 for sorrow, 2 for mirth, 3 for a funeral, 4 for a birth - then 5-7 same as yours
Exactly!
@@dougalportree603 The version above is from the 1970s, your version 1 for sorrow, 2 for mirth etc, is much older.
The magpie thing is so common! I learned it by heart as a child, and, at 24, still abide by these superstitions to this day.
Me too.
Me too. I hate seeing one on its own, I always look around for its mate.
Me to I have to say good morning mr magpie
You still will when you are 74; 'just in case!'
My bloody friend put that burden on me lol
My Grandad won a cheese back in the early 40s, and I swear down, he was still serving the cheese well into the 70s.
LOL
He was lucky. I was evicted from my cheese.
Mmm, proper mature, that.
🤣 my mum, back in the 70s.." as far as I'm concerned kid, the last person to enter parliament with honourable intentions was Guy Faulkes" 😂😂😂 alas, she didn't have much faith ...in ANY of them.
Interesting...(06:40 of this video - ua-cam.com/video/iAzn9V3ha3Y/v-deo.htmlsi=HsbuZS2WbtV6Inx9) the yeoman warder refers to "honest, noble intensions" did your mother perhaps know Bill Gallagher to feed him the line? :) You never know!
🇨🇮*Guy Fawkes* 🏴🙂❤️🖖
@@Mark_Bickerton my mother was an historian, born in 1926, 😊 I was the youngest of 8 😳 (Irish catholic family 😏) she said a lot of things, one was "if corruption had a smell kid, you'll find the higher up the ladder you go, the more it stinks" 🤣 she also said "if you want to understand what's happening now and you want to predict the future, then know history well kid, it's got a habit of repeating itself" 🙄 and "remember this kid...a public "servant" (anyone working for the establishment) is exactly that..they are paid BY the public to provide a service, NOT to lord it over us, never let these fkrs look down on ya kid, they couldn't walk in your shadow if the truth be known" 😳
@@annettemoore7264 Your mother was wise... it's a pity she is not still teaching the young of this country!
Think that’s a statement many have made, even caught myself saying it a while back and thought I was turning into my mother 😂😂
I've never really thought about it, but it must be so strange for visitors to the UK when we are all walking around saluting the magpies 😂
What? Do foreigners just get the bad luck then?
@@stephenlee5929Well they're not British for a start - that sounds like bad luck to me! 😂
You see Australian kids wearing helmets because of the dive bombing magpies!
I always salute a magpie if I see one! If I’m in deep conversation with someone, one of us will suddenly stop and go “there’s a magpie” we both salute, and then we carry on the conversation as normal.
I saw a magpie by myself once on my way home from work. I saluted it and bowed saying hello Mr magpie. Then turned round and saw two lads in a white van watching me. I was so embarrassed 😂
I'm a country boy so I always spit and salute when I see a singular magpie or say "hello Mr magpie how's the wife and kids". I once spotted five at once and later bought a scratch card which I would never otherwise do; won a fiver.😊
Doesn't everybody?
You did the right thing. They were waiting to grab you, if you didn't do it!
I always salute a solo magpie to this day or ask how's his wife and family!🤣
I am that sad little English person that goes around saluting solitary magpies....😂 I get enough bad luck, so better to 'err on the side of caution'.
I always salute magpies 🫡
you are not alone, in my 70#s and I still do, I recite the rhyme even if it is just me and the dog out on a walk...
I do it too! If I’m in a large crowd I try to do a subtle salute and disguise it by brushing my hair out of my face so people can’t tell 😂
I'm Scottish and I do it too😂
Always greet a lone Magpie ask how the wife and kids are! Personally I dont care what others think of our customs, they are ours and we dont think of them as strange- at least we have customs!! 🏴
Its a bit like talking to Americans, greet them with 'You Alright?', not really looking for an answer, its tradition.
The rhym about magpies only went up to 7 when I was a kid in the 70's. The rest has been added more recently. Playing conkers in the 70's before the health and safety brigade cancelled it was brilliant too.
Yes soaking in vinegar and baking in oven to cheat.
The kids TV show Magpie used the first 7 lines as the intro so everyone knew them but the rhyme always had 13 lines, my gran had a book with the rhyme in it & it was the full 13 lines.
My faither taught me the Magpie rhyme in the 70's and it definitely went up to 20.
I thoroughly enjoyed conkers as a kid growing up in the 2000s-2010s! My uncle did put a needle through his thumb a coupla times so maybe the health and safety was a bit lacking
They didn't mention cheering when someone drops a plate or breaks a cup by accident, that one confused the hell out of some visitors we had one year.
The picture of the chestnut was the wrong one. The picture depicted the edible chestnut. The Horse Chestnut, which is poisonous, is the one played in conkers.
Sweet chestnut not edible chestnut. And horse chestnuts are not actually poisonous. (I've eaten them to prove this old beleif is false!)
The first bird picture was a hooded crow, not a magpie.
I normally have to turn down the volume when Americans start talking - but you are so wonderfully quiet and calm! No screaming, no woohooing! Thank you!
That's why i tune in to him too!
"Try everything once, except folk dancing and incest" - Sir Thomas Beecham.
Was that on qi by any chance?
@@hesky10 It does sound like QI but I heard it many years ago, I used to be in the music business. Beecham quotes are worth a Google.
Do the people of Norfolk know this?
Actually it's very rare to see kids doing penny for the guy anymore as it is classed as begging. I've certainly not seen it since the 90s.
It's also really rare to see a scramble after a wedding these days. Was a favourite part of being a child of the 70's, scrambling for loose change in the street.
One of the effects of the Maypole dance is that as the ribbons braid around the pole, the dancers get CLOSER to the pole and each other. The young people start off spaced out and if done properly end up brushing against each other, it's something of a "mating ritual".
There is a story that someone was doing their driving test when they saw a magpie and, as you must, saluted it and said, "Good Morning, Colonel." The Driving Examiner failed them for not paying enough attention to the road. That was certainly 'One for sorrow' :-)
No, no... the reason he failed will have been for getting the Magpie's rank wrong.
It's "Captain", not Colonel.
At school, the chemistry teacher did Morris dancing. We used to tease him about it but would cheer when he did the Morris dancing in the group.
Re the may pole dancing, we did something similar at primary school without the May pole and we would call it country dancing. I grew up in a rural farming area in Devon.
The pupils of the primary school used to open the fair week by country dancing in the square.
We had the Mari Lwyd in Abergavenny a few days ago. It's not creepy. It's fun.It's all about singing and banter.
I was told that the "hello Mr Magpie, how's your wife?" bit is because the rhyme is about counting the number of magpies you see (so, eg, if you see six at once, there's gold coming your way). Not sure how it actually holds together, but one magpie alone denotes sorrow, so asking about his wife implies there is another nearby, making it two - two for joy.
At New Year in Scotland we have a tradition of 'First Footing'. Your first visitor after the bells should be tall, dark and handsome. They should always bring a bottle of whisky, a lump of coal, and something to eat, usually either Shortbread, or traditionally a thing called 'Black bun', which is basically, mixed dried fruits(raisins, sultanas, dates, orange peel, currants, flaked almonds) mixed with sugar, black pepper, cinnamon, Cloves, with a healthy addition of whisky or brandy. It's baked fully encased in pastry and dates back to the reign of Mary Queen of Scots in the 1560's.
The Whisky is to toast good health, the coal is to bring good luck to the household(your house will never be cold through the coming year). the food is a symbol of good luck, that your home will always have enough food to fill your bellies. The tradition of the first footer being tall, dark and handsome is said to date back to the Viking invasions, as the last thing you'd want to see at your door was a fair haired Norseman, so a dark haired Man was seen as an omen of good luck.
It is amazing what weird things have kept going through the years. I have not heard of some of these. I used to like horse racing a little but not now when I have seen horses injured and even put down because of it. I have only ever heard the first part of the Magpie Song. The part that rhymed best. We are a daft lot really aren't we.
Okay so Mari Lwyd has a few different origin stories - of course there’s the ones that propose it to be a pagan tradition whose origins are lost to time, and there’s also a Christian one that it represents a horse driven out of the stable to make way for the baby Jesus… Mari Lwyd is therefore looking for a new place to stay and to fetch gifts for to take back, hence why it’s good luck!
One custom that we used to do in Liverpool was bobbing for apples at Halloween, (commonly called "Duck Apple Night") which sadly I think may have died out, and been overtaken by "Trick or Treat" from America. We also would roast Chestnuts on the coal fire.
We used to bob for apples too in Glasgow. We did it planting faces into a bowl and grabbing apple with hands behind backs and we also did it kneeling on a stool and holding a fork in our mouths and dropping it to spear an apple. One class at my school did it last year with some kids.
Good to know it's still being done. I suppose ithe two cities have a lot in common.@@Jinty92
We did that in Scotland, though called it 'dooking for apples(or aipples)'. We also had treacle scones hung from the ceiling by string. You had to eat the scone while you had your hands behind your back, as with the apples. We went out Guising and used to sing songs for those who answered their door. You'd then get an apple, satsuma, some nuts or maybe even 10p (can you imagine weans today being happy at coming back with a bag full of fruit and nuts?).
Halloween in Scotland and the UK generally, is rubbish now, it's more for adults going to fancy dress parties than it is for weans having a laugh around the neighbourhood.
I don't like our traditions being eroded . Is it social media? However maybe we should tryanf keep them alive. Who knows kids might like to take part.@@scottw.3258
Apple bobbing is/was also done in Northern Ireland.
We have a lot of crazy customs going back centuries some better know than others. There are a lot of silly ports like shin kicking lol
American football doesn't impress me. Give us a couple of blokes a pair of pointy clogs and a pound of lard - that'll separate the wheat from the chaff.
When I was growing up in the mid 50s aged around 5-6 or 7 living in a working class home on a council estate there was a tradition that your mum or dad bought the kids new clothes for Whitsuntide (Whit Sunday)and we went knocking on neighbours doors asking if they liked them and usually they would give me a few penny's. Never heard of it since then and don't know if it was just a local thing. I hated wearing a suit and tie then and still do.
@SPinder-qw6yg I can remember doing that in the 50s and I was about the same age
@@reedsfromleeds6347 Thanks for that I wasn't sure if it was only where l lived . I was in Rotherham so just down the road.
New clothes for Whit Sunday and repainting the house (outside) are old traditions.
@@SPinder-qw6yg yeah almost neighbours 🤣
I live in an English village where we still have a Maypole.
Funny how most of the Americans I watch on here are all posting the same videos !🤔
RENAISSANCE is pronounced RA NAY SONCE in the UK.
ASCOT, or particularly ROYAL ASCOT, is when the royal family attend, so it's no surprise that men get dressed up in TOP HAT and TAILS to attend. Other race days are called LADIES DAY when all the ladies get dressed in their finery.
DERBY is pronounced DARBY in the UK.
The picture shown is of a SWEET CHESTNUT ( the one you can eat) and not a HORSE CHESNUT ( CONKER) !!
They have different outer shells and the Horse Chestnut usually only has 1" nut" inside.
I always say ‘Hello Mr Magpie’ when I see one, and they seem to have increased in numbers in recent years, so I usually spot at least one on a daily basis. I also know the song by heart up to ‘seven for a secret never to be told’!
The Atherstone Ball game is crazy, local tradition dating back to the 1100s. Definitely worth checking out.
The Ashbourne shrovetime game is probably better. Held over two days, and you can at least you score goals.
No you do not have to dress posh to attend the races, even at Royal Ascot. Only if you’re going into an enclosure that has such a dress code (such as the Royal Enclosure during Royal Ascot week - most of the spectators do dress up a bit but it’s not mandatory unless in the Royal Enclosure). Most people don’t dress up at all at most race meetings throughout the year (except as above where there is some sort of enclosure dress code).
'Penny for the guy' was mentioned. We used to do that when I was a kid (long ago) - you'd stuff old clothes with newspapers and straw, put some kind of a head on it, and hang around the high street asking for pennies - totally unsupervised, btw - which most passers-by would happily give you. The pennies were for us to buy fireworks (bangers, jumping jacks and the like) which we'd merrily set off around the neighbourhood. This is kids of 9 or 10, I'm talking about. Think I'd trade that for a gameboy?
Where I grew up it was usually the Boy Cubs or younger Scouts that went door to door. Lovely memories.
@@mackwiz1 Yes. And it was usually the scouts' bonfire they all ended up on. We never went door-to-door, but it wasn't unusual to see 3 or 4 'guys' pitched along the High Street.
Just the tip of the iceberg of strange traditions over here. On the Isle of Man there is "Hunt the Wren" on 26th December, where people dance around the Wren Pole. Centuries ago this used to be adorned with feathers from a Wren that all the villagers would hunt down and kill. An early folklore story is that a fairy enchantress used her beauty to lure men to their doom. When chased she changed her form into a Wren. So, this is seen as a punishment.
A local village has a maypole over 100 feet high, that gets erected, and then gets taken down, at May Day, every 3 years.
Hundreds of villagers, would help.erect this heavy wooden pole, with ropes, ladders, and muscle power, until it was securely locked into a hole in the ground.
Then a local.villager had to climb to the too , and spin a metal fox, before the dancing began.
Kids love, fear, and laugh at Punch and Judy. It is one of those things parents take children to, partly in order to frighten and amuse them: it is meant to introduce children to adult themes in a memorable and trauma assuaging way. They are also made aware of the age of the tradition, centuries old things have magic. Guaranteed all those kids will be loving it and laughing by the end. It is raucous and frantic and kids Love it.
In the images of magpies, one of the birds isn’t a magpie! That’s the attention to detail that we expect from Watchmojo UK!
My Grandad used to say " avoid 3 things in life : adultery , incest and Morris dancing lollllllll all the adults would fall around laughing but us kids used to just laugh because everyone else was laughing . lolllll
None of these are more confusing or stupid or deliciously dangerous than Ottery St. Mary’s running of the tar barrels on bonfire night. Literally tens of thousands of people descend on a tiny Devon village, pack themselves into the streets until you can only move if the crowd does, then a local hoists a massive tar soaked barrel onto his or her shoulders, sets fire to it (10 to 15 foot flames are not uncommon) and then they run back and forth along the streets (originally, I think, between the old pubs in the village) straight through the crowds of people that can barely move already. I’ve lived close to Ottery most of my life and have been to Tar Barrels many times and I kid you not, it’s simply insane. Go if you can, it’s a bucket list experience in my humble opinion.
Hi. Although conkers are technically a nut, outside of a Mojo video or a botany lesson, they're never referred to as a nut. They're only ever called conkers. And if an opponents conker hits your knuckles, it can bloody hurt! You can get conkers by throwing sticks up into the Horse chestnut tree in the autumn and knocking down the ripe "fruit", or you can just pick up the already fallen ones off the ground. The bigger they are, the better.
As far as I know, (I'm happy to be corrected if I'm wrong), the coming of spring has been celebrated by just about every civilisation throughout history, (it's just a shame the USA doesn't have much history to speak of). It's basically a fertility rite, to make the crops grow and animals to successfully mate. Mayday is a public holiday in the UK. As far as I know, Mayday is to honour the Roman goddess Maya, and the Maypole itself represents, err, THE male member (nudge nudge wink wink).
Here's the video with sound that they were showing in the Mojo clip. You can hear the bells and the music.
ua-cam.com/video/sArAC2_ow2k/v-deo.html
Related to Guy Fawkes, there is a carnival in Somerset, on the first Saturday in November, every year. It's Europe's largest illuminated carnival. You should give it a look, It's amazing, and it's different every year.
That's the first one of the year,, held at Bridgewater, there are several others held through November. Oddly, nobody outside Somerset seems to know about them.
In a little country town near me "Hungerford" have "The Tutty-Men" carrying "Tutty Poles" accompanied by the Orange Man or Orange Scrambler on Hocktide (April) to collect Rent Money and or Kisses.
For more on the May Pole tradition also check out the Swedish Midsommer dance around a pole and the song they sing about small frogs
Mari Lwyd, (Mari Lloyd) the gray horse sent out of the stable to make room for Mary and Jesus.
Punch and Judy has MANY more performers now, than in the 1960's... Also. because Samuel Pepys wrote in his 'diaries', about seeing it performed _(on the 9th May 1662)._ It has been available to see near the site of 'that' performance in London. On the second Sunday in May, 'Alternative Arts' hold the 'Annual May Fayre' in the garden of St Paul’s Church, Covent Garden and performances take place all day!
Performers come from all over the world and meet up over that weekend. Also. at least 6 people in the UK make professional 'P&J' puppets, booths etc., some giving lessons. 'P&J' performers can be booked for all over the UK, with many _(those who are happy to travel with all their 'gear'),_ going to the US, Europe and Japan etc. on extended tours. Many other people collect the history of 'P&J' such as original & new puppets, historical flyers/posters and similar memorabilia - some puppets are sold for large sums of money. Hope you find that of interest? 😃
Traditionally ,the person operating the puppets in `Punch and Judy` is always known as the Professor
A lot of the customs are from Pagan times,and village customs.Horse racing is the sport of Kings ,thats why the men dress up and the ladies in their best dress.
UK Morris Dancing, UK Druids, and UK Pagan festivals confuse everyone. Joker and Harley Quinn could be said to be an updated Punch and Judy in the UK. Hence why in the UK they are so loved.
I'm sure there'll be variations, but where I'm from...playing conkers, a conker that has smashed just one opposing conker is/was called a ‘one-er’; a conker that has smashed two conkers is/was called a ‘two-er’ etc
If a ‘two-er’ beat another conker that is also ‘two-er’ your conker turns into a ‘four-er’ (i.e. you add the two values of the conkers together - with the victorious conker taking the combiner value e.g. 2 + 2 = ‘four-er’. Much higher a five-er or so isn't all that common with fresh dried conkers without shenanigans...baking, soaking in vinegar and baking, varnish etc.
Tangles and Stampsies...if your strings get tangled, each player pulls and tries to rip the opponents string out of their opponents hand and when on the floor it can then be stamped on to claim the win...some kids would have a bunch of their conkers on the string at the same time to save having to thread a new one so you could stamp on their whole stash...which I guess was a bit mean, but funny.
The best bit though, I think, wasn't the game, it was going and getting them that was the fun part...actually going outside, finding the trees and climbing them or lobbing sticks up to knock the conkers down.
I don't think many kids go outside much these days...not like we used to anyway.
Horse racing is only the 2nd largest spectator sport because of the large number of meetings there are. In terms of average attendance it would be way down the list, but there are often dozens of meetings in a week, all around the country, and the cumulative attendance can be enormous. Plus there are certain meetings, Cheltenham, Grand National, Royal Ascot etc etc which attract large numbers and make up for the times when only a handful of people attend.
Maypole dancing is all about fertility and pairing off in the spring time.
Both Magpies and Wrens were seen as bad omens, they even used to put a wren in a box I think in the winter.
My brother worked at Ascot, he did stadium cleaning. The things people left behind, high end fashion, £50 notes. It's like a gigantic Bobby Moore Suite(Wembley Stadium).
What's a Bobby Moore Sweet?
@@gregwilks1317 My bad I meant 'suite'. It's a space at Wembley, they name fancy suites after famous players. You need a special pass, you get food, have any alcoholic drinks and they have their own toilets
The term morris developed from the French word morisque (meaning a dance, the dance) and then the English equivalent moryssh, moris and finally morris. The earliest confirmation of a performance of morris dancing in England dates from London on 19 May 1448, when Moryssh daunsers (Morris dancers)were paid 7s (35p) for their services.
By Elizabethan times it was already considered to be an ancient dance, and references appear to it in a number of early plays. Many called for a dance or jig to be performed by the leading actor. One of the most popular actors of the time was Will Kemp and, for a wager during Lent in 1599/1600 (when the roads would be exceedingly bad!), he danced from London to Norwich The Nine Daies(days)Wonder (although he started on the first Monday in Lent, and arrived at Easter). Large numbers of spectators turned out to cheer him on and check his progress.
The Moorish link is actually a later interpretation of earlier pagan mock battles between Summer and Winter, such as that fought on May Day between the Queens of Summer and Winter. the word moor is also used to mean 'pagan', and that perhaps morris dance originally meant 'pagan dance', and that bells and disguised faces are a common feature of pagan ritual. the Moorish link is coincidental and the true origins are much older and pagan. This view remains popular for many.
You also have the border Morris dancers, where they blacken their faces, this stems from when some found it hard to find work during the winter months, so they would perform in the streets for money, but they would disguise themselves by putting soot or charcoal on their faces so they wouldn't be recognised, as it was illegal to beg on the streets.
You have to remember that during medieval times and even earlier, some words that were used to describe things, and even spelling, was different to today, plus superstition, gods and goddesses, seasons and beliefs were very much part of their lives.
One for sorrow,
Two for joy,
Three for a girl,
Four for a boy,
Five for silver,
Six for gold,
Seven for a secret never told!
(Yes, He's right. I don't know it all the way to 20... but, then again, when are you ever going to see 20 magpies? And, more over, that the birds stick around long enough for you to count them all to know.)
For once that was a pretty good watchmojo list so really enjoyed this on, thanks.
The magpie rhyme only goes up to 13. The additional lines on the Wikipedia version have been put there by pranksters and are a classic example of why you shouldn't use or trust the site, and why one of its founders left the organisation regarding it as a failed experiment.
Britain is thousands of years old, so there are really old traditions lol i lov a magpie i always salute them.
WatchMojo have slipped up with this list. I was expecting them to find an excuse to shoehorn Oasis in at number 8.
😂 right?! Bloody oasis..
There is a longer version of this, where there's an honourable mention, I believe, something about a woman, and a sword in an Oasis or lake or similar.
The Burryman of South Queensferry is an odd one, no one knows why a man is covered every inch of his body in burrs (sharp sticky seed heads) and walks a route of 7 miles round town for 9 hours. He is given free whisky sipped through a straw at every pub and many private houses. “It’s tradition” seems to be reason enough.
We had a Maypole dances on the 1st of May - could be like labour day.
Morris dancing
I don't see it much anymore, but it used to go on at the country fair.
There are over 13,600 regular 'Morris Dancers' around the UK and most perform at country fairs and fetes or outside popular country pubs or sites, for the tourists etc.
The Guy Fawkes story was hardly "fun." He and his fellow conspirators were executed by being hanged, cut down while still conscious, their stomachs slit open and their entrails pulled out, and their bodies then cut into quarters. Happy days.
Maypoles were banned by the ferocious Puritan authorities in the early American settlements. It's thought that traditionally maypole dancing was accompanied by licentious behaviour, as is the case with most spring celebrations. It always seems strange that the early white settlers are said in US schols to have been seeking religious freedom, but immediately set about instituting a vicious theocracy only rivalled in modern Iran for the total control of behaviour.
The white horse was a mysterious powerful supernatural figure in Norse and Saxon mythology and before. Great white horses were cut into chalk hillsides in Britain, the revealed chalk forming the white outline. The best maintained and most famous is not far from where I live at Uffington. Its origins are obscure but it's thought to be 3000+ years old.
Wearing animal skulls and hides was common in shamanistic practices, where the shaman took on the appearance of whatever animal the tribe relied on or had as its totem, as part of the practice of getting the animal's forgiveness for being slaughtered ,and thus defending hunters. Gradually these practices lost their meaning and became folk customs. Where I used to live in Greece, farmers dress in masks, sometimes ram skulls, wrapped in black sheepskins and with rams' horns on their heads, and parade through the village streets in a slow dance, accompanied by cow bells. It is seriously creepy.
Only time I'd heard the magpie song was the kids telly programme. ..'magpie',funny enough
There's probably some connotation with the magpie often seen eating carrion provided by roadkill and it's tendency to attack and kill other birds. We used to turn over the coins in our pockets as a means of warding off bad luck whenever you see one. I'm pretty sure we did that for hearing cuckoo's too. We are definitely not right in the head 😂😂😂
I first remember hearing the magpie rhyme from the TV show Magpie, back in the late 60s early 70's whenever it was and to this day run it through my head when I see a Magpie. Going to junior school (6-11) back in the 60's we were taught Morris dancing by one of the teachers, a wonderful old Gentleman who had a tremendous influence on my life both then and 12 years later although to be honest, I remember we spent time learning it, but I can't for the life of me remember the dance.
It doesn't really matter where you go in Britain, you're gonna find weird customs and rituals, Shrovetide football for one, in Somerset they have the annual ferret stuffing contest (two male ferrets stuffed down your trousers) in other parts of the Country other weirdness, picking a top ten most confusing or weirdest is almost impossible unless you take into account the crazy customs that can be found in each County of Britain.
8:47 as a kid i did a school performance similar to this at where we had to perform with two ribbons and a choreographed maypole dance lol. I was like 8.
Maypole. Exactly that a pole to dance around in May.
Perhaps review the Cornish tradition of ‘Obby ‘Oss on Mayday. Only carried out in one seaside town in North Cornwall.
I use to play conkers school. Had cheaters that would hardern their conkers with vinegar. I did two maypole dances at two different schools during festivals.
HarryHard (t'was a conker, not a p star btw) was my 1989 winner (until it got smashed by someone who I am still sure to this day had soaked their conker in vinegar, it smelt of it!) lol RIP HarryHard conker, you won me about £6 in small 20p bets. Lots of tuck shop treats back then!!!
Cheers JJ!
As music is a big part of your life. Try checking out ' The Unthanks' Magpie song. It'll definitely give you a similar vibe as just reading the rhyme did
The history of magpies in a rhyme is ancient as you saw in there, but one for sorrow is because magpies mate for life, so if you see a single magpie, that’s why sorrow. And because they mate for life two is for joy, et cetera et cetera
I was about to say the same, but you beat me to it.
So people asking a solo magpie “how’s your wife?” is a little insensitive! ☹️
I have a carrier bag full of conkers which are from a tree in the local vicarage garden, dog walks take me past the vicarage each day, I couldn't resist picking them up, no idea what to do with them, it wouldn't surprise me if I shouldn't have picked them up, but my dog kept trying to eat them and everyone my age knows they are quite poisonus.
I do that, there is a myth that spiders don't like them, so I have them in the window cills, well it might not be a myth and I'm not keen on spiders.. they have it very nice in my garden... I even apologise to them when working near their webs.. daft or what.. don't answer that
@@suepoole8323 what a lovely reply, I'm struggling to believe that you dislike something such as a spider, I've never heard of that though, I'm pleased that you don't harm them, they do keep a lot of pests down, my dog catches earwigs, she treats them as though they are scorpions, I think she may have been nipped by one, she's still a pup so still exploring and learning :)
A local Grimsby folk singer wrote a song called Mr Punch and Judy Man also Here’s to The Grimsby Lads as well as Fiddlers Green among others he is known nationally and internationally his name is John Conolly, there is a video from 2013 at a festival in america on UA-cam were he is singing Here’s to the Grimsby Lads with another folk singer.
Magpies mate for life, so seeing just 1 magpie is bad luck, Hence 1 for sorrow. I only know the rhyme up to 7 for secret never to be told. 1 for sorrow, 2 for joy etc.
There are loads more, the Padstow Obby Oss is brilliant and very creepy, but attracts thousands of people. Burning Tar Barrel rolling in Ottery St Mary, very dangerous. There are a number of Green Man festivals in the south, which are also creepy. Many of them are revivals from earlier traditions. which have come about in our secular age. There are new ones too. Divali the Festival of Light from India, and the very many Pride festivals through the summer in many cities. And the huge number of Music festivals which could counted as the U.K. is a very musical country.
We have an annual bun-throwing event in Abingdon in Oxfordshire.
Cricket is third and Rugby fourth I’d expect
put all that to one side, I want to introduce a new tradition - The Safety Dance, with short jesters, maidens, dancing horses, maypoles the whole lot, for once day a year, in every town and village.. The song played constantly in a loop, and you have to clap or sing a long.. Hows that for a new tradition.. Make it Happen People ~Trooper
Wasn't very funny for Guy, who was brutally tortured on the rack, before being sentence to be hung drawn and quatered, which means being disembowled befor hanging. Yeah, such a funny story JJ.
think the video he watched was the story of the gun powder plot.. Not the story of Guy Fawkes, that went into way more detail.. I have watched both versions Gunpowder plot is the one taught in schools..
check out the tradition of the Straw Jack... it's like a harvest festival version of the Mari Lwrd...
Morris dancing is terrifying. I remember a group being outside my local pub. I went to the toilet and found myself next to one of those men at the urinal adjacent to mine. He finished going and went to shake, which was accompanied by a loud tinkle from his bells. It's all I could do to suppress a giggle.
I saw two magpies in my garden on New Year’s Day and took it as a sign!
There's one version of the Mari Lwyd story that says it's the ghost of a pregnant mare ejected from the stable to make room for Mary & Jesus, and it's been seeking its revenge ever since.
Watch Boss Morris at the Brit's 2023. They accompanied Wet Leg, singing "Chaise Longue"
There's a welsh version of the maypole. The Wikipedia page for "Calan Mai" is quite bonkers 😍🤣
5:50 I always salute a magpie and say how's your day.... I'm not superstitious, it's just force of habit being British 😂
Check out Burning Tar Barrels at Ottery St Mary. Crazy bonfire night tradition
I think P'Terry Pratchett gives the best 'possibilities' for Maypoles, Morris Dancing and other country, um pursuits? NOT doing the Stick & Bucket dance, nope.😁
You don't have to dress up to go to the races. The bookies don't either. But you aren't allowed in the toffs part unless you have a silly hat on.
The magpie stuff is because they are solitary birds until spring gets going, when they tend to think of getting together, so then they are a bunch. Then they pair up and go around - in pairs! Two for joy!
The maypole is an excuse for small kids to get completly knotted up and have a laugh.
Morris dancing is an excuse for their parents to sit outside the pub and watch.
Bonfire night is just an excuse. Cold and dark, food of various sorts, Dad might set himself alight which is amusing, but keep the cats and dogs safe.
You may be interested to check two annual festivals we have here in Cornwall which both take place each May. Helston Flora Day when people dance through the streets behind a brass band and go in and oout of the shops and houses and Padstow 'Obby 'Oss Day which is probably pagan in origin and again involves parading through the narrow streets with accordian and drum music. There are videos about both on UA-cam. Well worth a look.
Do you finish by burning someone in a large wicker man? 😏😂
My Aunt Helen, a primary ( elementary) teacher was a folk dance expert and teacher here in England. She did a year's teacher exchange in 1960 and taught in Atlanta where she introduced maypole dancing. Perhaps her legacy lasted!
Morris dancers should be England’s answer to the Hakka
You need to remember that unlike many Nations the British person does not mind making a fool of himself ( usually men doing daft things and the women picking up the pieces )
3:30 The origins of the *Mari Lwyd* are thought to go back to pre Christian times. The ancient Britons worshipped a horse god called ' *Epona* ' , tellingly,the Welsh word for a foal is *Ebol*
As it happens, I'm seeing the Mary Lwyd in action this Friday evening at a pub in Cowbridge ( a town in south Wales).It's a lot of fun - can't wait!
🍻🐴🏴
When seeing a magpie you should say "good morning, Captain". The reason is unknown.
Especially if it's afternoon.
Morris men are great, some used to blacken their faces with soot and coal dust so that when they went dancing and begging for money, they would not be recognised. Sometimes one man will be carrying a blown up bladder which is used to tap women on their behinds as some form of fertility ritual. I used to go to The Swanage Folk Festival in Swanage, Dorset to watch the Morris dancers and listen to folk singers in the pubs where there was ample opportunity to join in the singing. Dancing around the Maypole is a fertility ritual too.
Magpies steal things and are seen as mischevious and so we need to protect ourselves from them. I always talk to the magpies when I see them.
I didn't know I was supposed to ask after the health of the Magpie's spouse and children 😳 I always say good morning Mr Magpie.
The rhyme I know doesnt go beyond 10 but I've never worried about that as I wouldn't be likely to see that many at one time. I think the most I've seen in one go was 5. I learnt the rhyme from the TV programme Magpie
I remember visiting the Witch museum in Boscastle, creepy place. Just how creepy is a corn dolly, yet it's to bring good luck, often hidden in fireplaces.
The corn dolly is just a fertility symbol, to be kept until the next harvest, not really creepy at all.
@@wanderingfool6312 I think the museum overall was creepy rather than the dolly once explained.