Twelve Days of Christmas

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I.

—Halliwell’s Nursery Rhymes, cccxlvi.

II.

—Chambers’s Pop. Rhymes, p. 42.

III.

IV.

—Halliwell’s Nursery Rhymes, cclxxx., cvi.

(c) “The Twelve Days” was a Christmas game. It was a customary thing in a friend’s house to play “The Twelve Days,” or “My Lady’s Lap Dog,” every Twelfth Day night. The party was usually a mixed gathering of juveniles and adults, mostly relatives, and before supper—that is, before eating mince pies and twelfth cake—this game and the cushion dance were played, and the forfeits consequent upon them always cried. The company were all seated round the room. The leader of the game commenced by saying the first line. Generally the version used was similar to No. I. In later years the shorter version, No. III., was said. The lines for the “first day” of Christmas was said by each of the company in turn; then the first “day” was repeated, with the addition of the “second” by the leader, and then this was said all round the circle in turn. This was continued until the lines for the “twelve days” were said by every player. For every mistake a forfeit—a small article belonging to the person—had to be given up. These forfeits were afterwards “cried” in the usual way, and were not returned to the owner until they had been redeemed by the penalty inflicted being performed.

In version No. IV., the game began by the leader saying to the player sitting next to her, “Take this!” holding the hands as if giving something. The neighbour answered, “What’s this?” The leader answered, “A gaping, wide-mouthed, waddling frog.” The second player then turned to the third and repeated, “A gaping, wide-mouthed, waddling frog,” and so on all round the room. The leader then said, “Two pudding-ends would choke a dog,” continuing in the same way until twelve was reached. Chambers does not describe the way the game given by him was played, but it was probably much in the same manner. Rimbault’s Nursery Rhymes gives the tune to which words of the song were repeated. The words given are almost identical with No. I., but the tune, copied here, is the only recorded one I have found.

(d) It seems probable that we have in these rhymes a remnant of a practice of singing or chanting carols or rhymes relating to the custom of sending gifts to friends and relatives during the twelve days of Christmas. The festival of the twelve days was an important one. The great mid-winter feast of Yule consisted of twelve days, and from the events occurring during those days it is probable that events of the future twelve months were foretold.—On the festival of the twelve days consult Keary’s Outlines of Primitive Belief, p. 381. Miss Burne records that the twelve days rule the year’s weather; as the weather is on each day of the twelve, so will it be in the corresponding month, and for every mince-pie eaten in friends’ houses during these days a happy month is promised. In the games usually played at this season, viz., those in which forfeits are incurred, and the redemption of these by penances inflicted on the unhappy perpetrators of mistakes, we may perhaps see a relic of the observance of certain customs and ceremonies, and the penalties likely to be incurred by those persons who omitted to religiously carry them out. It is considered unlucky in the North of England and Scotland to enter a neighbour’s house empty-handed. Christmas bounties, and the practice of giving presents of food and corn and meal on St. Thomas’s Day, 21st December, to the poorer people, when they used to go round to the farmers’ houses to collect food to prepare for this festival, may have had its origin in the idea that nothing could be prepared or cooked during the festival of the twelve days. It was a very general practice for work of all kinds to be put entirely aside before Christmas and not resumed until after Twelfth Day. Dr. Gregor records that no bread should be baked nor washing done during this period, nor work left unfinished. Jamieson, in a note on Yule, says that the gifts now generally conferred at the New Year seem to have originally belonged to Yule. Among the northern nations it was customary for subjects at this season to present gifts to their sovereign,—these were called Jolagiafir, i.e. Yule gifts. The custom in Scotland of presenting what we vulgarly call a sweetie-skon, or a loaf enriched with raisins and currants, has an analogy to this.

It is difficult, with the scanty evidence at command, to do more than make the simple suggestions above. The game is evidently in a process of very rapid decadence, and we have probably only poor specimens of what was originally the form of verses sung in the two versions from Halliwell and Chambers. The London version, No. III., is only recognisable as belonging to this game from the fact that it was known as playing at the “twelve days,” was always played on Twelfth Day, and it was not considered proper nor polite for the guests to depart until this had been played. This fact has induced me to add the fourth version from Halliwell, because it appears to me that it may belong to the final form which this game is taking, or has taken, namely, a mere collection of alliterative nursery words, or rhymes, to puzzle the speaker under a rapid repetition, and to exact forfeits for the mistakes made.

See “Forfeits.”

Twelve Holes

A game similar to “Nine Holes,” mentioned in Florio ed., 1611, p. 20.—Halliwell’s Dictionary.

Uncle John is Ill in Bed

I.

—Shrewsbury, Chirbury (Burne’s Shropshire Folk-lore, p. 511).

II.

(b) The Shropshire version is played by the children forming a ring by joining hands. After the eighth line is sung all the children stoop down—the last to do so has to tell her sweetheart’s name. In the Scotch version the players stand in a row. They sing the first five lines, then one player is chosen (who chooses another); the other lines are sung, and the two shake hands. Another version from Scotland (Laurieston School, Kirkcudbright, Mr. J. Lawson), is very similar to the one from Nairn.

Mr. Newell (p. 72) gives versions of this game which are fuller and more complete than those given here. He thinks it bears traces of ancient origin, and may be the last echo of a mediæval song, in which an imprisoned knight is saved from approaching death by the daughter of the king, or soldan, who keeps him in confinement.

Up the Streets

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(b) In the Liverpool version the children stand in a ring and sing the words. At “Fie, for shame,” the child named ceases to sing, and the others address her particularly. When the verse is ended she turns her back to the inside of the ring. All do this in turn. The Monton game is played the same as “kiss-in-the-ring” games.

(c) Northall (English Popular Rhymes, p. 549), gives a version almost the same as the Monton version. He also quotes some verses from a paper by Miss Tennant in the English Illustrated Magazine, June 1885, which she gives as a song of the slums of London. In Gammer Gurton’s Garland (1783, reprint 1810, p. 34), is a verse which is the same as Halliwell’s, with two additional lines—

[Addendum]

Wadds and the Wears (1)

Mactaggart, in describing this, says it is one of the most celebrated amusements of the Ingle ring. To begin it, one in the ring speaks as follows:—

He may either say he’s a “puir broken ploughman” or any other trade, but since he has chosen that trade some of the articles belonging to it must always be given or offered to recruit it. But the article he most wants he privately tells one of the party, who is not allowed to offer him anything, as he knows the thing, which will throw the offerer in a wadd, and must be avoided as much as possible, for to be in a wadd is a very serious matter. Now, the one on the left hand of the “poor ploughman” makes the first offer by way of answer to what above was said—“I’ll gie ye the coulter to help ye to your trade.” The ploughman answers, “I don’t thank ye for the coulter; I hae ane already.” Then another offers him another article belonging to the ploughman’s business, such as the moolbred, but this also is refused: another gives the sock, another the stilts, another the spattle, another the naigs, and so on until one gives the soam, which was the article he most wanted, and was the thing secretly told to the one player. This throws the giver into a wadd, out of which he is relieved in the following manner:—

The ploughman says to the one in the wadd, “Whether will ye hae three questions and two commands, or three commands and two questions to answer, or gang on wi’, sae that ye may win out o’ the wadd?” For the one so fixed has always the choice which of these to take. Suppose he takes the first, two commands and three questions, then a specimen of these may be—“I command ye to kiss the crook,” says the ploughman, which must be completely obeyed by the one in the wadd; his naked lips must kiss the sooty implement. Secondly, says the ploughman, I command ye to stand up in that neuk and say—

which must also be done; in a corner of the house must he stand and repeat this couplet, until some tender-hearted lass relieves him. Then the questions are asked, such as—“Suppose you were in a bed with Maggie Lowden and Jennie Logan, your twa great sweethearts, what ane o’m wad ye ding owre the bedside, and what ane wad ye turn to and clap and cuddle?” He has to choose one, perhaps to the great mirth of the company. Secondly, “Suppose ye were stannin’ stark naked on the tap o’ Cairnhattie, whether wad ye cry on Peggie Kirtle or Nell o’ Killimingie to come wi’ your claise?” He has again to choose. Lastly, “Suppose ye were in a boat wi’ Tibbie Tait, Mary Kairnie, Sally Snadrap, and Kate o’ Minnieive, and it was to coup wi’ ye, what ane o’ ’em wad ye sink? what ane wad ye soom? wha wad ye bring to lan’? and wha wad ye marry?” Then he has again to choose between the girls named.

Chambers gives the following versions of the “Wadds”:—

One of the opposite party then says—

At the same time presenting an unmarried female by name. If the choice give satisfaction—

If the choice do not give satisfaction, from the age of the party—

If from supposed want of temper—

A civil mode of declining is to say—

The same ritual is gone through with respect to one of the other sex; in which case such rhymes as the following are used:—

Or, when the proposed party is agreeable—

A refusal must be atoned for by a wadd or forfeit. A piece of money, a knife, or any little thing which the owner prizes, will serve. When a sufficient number of persons have made forfeits, the business of redeeming them is commenced, and generally it is then that the amusement is greatest. The duty of kissing some person, or some part of the room, is usually assigned as a means of redeeming one’s wadds. Often for this purpose a lad has to kiss the very lips he formerly rejected; or, it may be, he has to kneel to the prettiest, bow to the wittiest, and kiss the one he loves best before the forfeit is redeemed.—The substance of the above is from a note in Cromek’s Remains of Nithsdale and Galloway Song, p. 114, who says—In this game formerly young men and women arranged themselves on each side of the fire, and alternately bestowed husbands and wives on each other. Carleton’s Traits and Stories of the Irish Peasantry, p. 106, also describes the game without any material difference.

Another form of this game, practised in Dumfriesshire in the last century, and perhaps still, was more common. The party are first fitted each with some ridiculous name, not very easy to be remembered, such as Swatter-in-the-Sweet-Milk, Butter-Milk-and-Brose, the Gray Gled o’ Glenwhargan Craig, &c. Then all being seated, one comes up, repeating the following rhymes—

It will be seen that the first version of Chambers more nearly resembles “Hey Wullie Wine” (vol. i. p. 207), and that the latter part of the version given by Mactaggart is similar to “Three Flowers” (ante, p. 255, and the first part to “Trades,” p. 305). Mr. W. Ballantyne sent me a version from Biggar as played when he was a boy. It is similar to Mactaggart’s.

This game may indicate an earlier form of playing at forfeits than the “Old Soldier,” “Turn the Trencher,” and kindred English games. Mactaggart does not state that any article belonging to the person who perpetrates the offence was given up and afterwards redeemed by the owner performing a penalty. In Chambers’ versions this is done. It may be that, in Mactaggart’s case, each offending person paid his or her penalty immediately after committing the blunder or offence instead of a leader collecting the forfeits from all offenders first, and then “crying” all together afterwards. Whether the game originated in the practice of “tabu,” or was an outcome of the custom of restitution, or ransom, legally made for the commission of crimes, such as that called wergeld, the penalty or price to be paid to the relatives of a slain man, or of punishment for certain offences then being in the hands of a certain class of people, we cannot now decide; but it was customary for penalties to be attached to the commission of minor offences, and the punishment enforced without appeal to any legally constituted authority. The object of most of the present forfeit games seems to have been to make the offenders ridiculous, or, in the case of the above form of games, to find out the person loved or hated. In Shropshire “Crying the Weds” is the name given to the game of playing at forfeits. Wadd means a pledge. Jamieson says “Wears” signifies the “Wars.” “At the wars” is a common mode still retained of describing the life of a soldier. Ihre supposes that the early term wadd or wed is derived from wadd-cloth, from this kind of merchandise being anciently given and received instead of money; when at any time a pledge was left, a piece of cloth was used for this purpose, and hence a pledge in general would be called wadd.

In Waldron’s description of the Isle of Man (ante, vol. i. p. 139) is an account of a Twelfth Day custom which throws light on the game as described by Chambers.

See “Forfeits,” “Hey Wullie Wine,” “Three Flowers,” “Trades.”[Addendum]

Wadds and the Wears (2)

Jamieson describes the game differently. He says—The players being equally divided, and a certain space being marked out between them, each lays down one or more wadds, or pledges, at that extremity where the party to which he belongs choose their station. A boundary being fixed, the object is to carry off the wadds from the one of these to the other. The two parties advancing to the boundary seize the first opportunity of crossing it, by making inroads on the territories of the other. If one who crosses the line is seized by the opposite party before he has touched any of their wadds, he is set down beside them as a prisoner, and receives the name of a “stinker;” nor can he be released until one of his own party can touch him without being intercepted by any of the others, in which case he is free. If any one is caught in the act of carrying off a wadd, it is taken from him; but he cannot be detained as a prisoner, in consequence of his having touched it. If he can cross the intermediate line with it, the pursuit is at an end. When one party has carried off to their ground all the wadds of the other the game is finished.

Waggles

A game of tip-cat. Four boys stand at the corners of a large paving-stone; two have sticks, the other two are feeders, and throw the piece of wood called a “cat.” The batters act much in the same way as in cricket, except that the cat must be hit whilst in the air. The batter hits it as far away as possible, and whilst the feeder is fetching it, gets, if possible, a run, which counts to his side. If either of the cats fall to the ground both batters go out, and the feeders take their place. A game called “Whacks” is played in a similar way.—London Streets (F. H. Low, Strand Magazine, Nov. 1891).

See “Tip-cat.”

Wallflowers

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