![Every 5th November the streets of Ottery St Mary are lit by blazing tar barrels, carried by the residents of the town; the barrels weigh 30kg and are carried at […]](https://calendarcustoms.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/IMG_9214-426x250.jpg "Ottery St Mary Tar Barrels")
![This is an ancient custom dating back hundreds of years -nobody knows exactly how long but it’s reputedly one of the oldest traditions in Europe. It starts with a simple […]](https://calendarcustoms.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/IMG_7518-480x250.jpg "Abbots Bromley Horn Dance")
Welcome to Calendar Customs!
This site aims to list the wide variety of traditional and unusual events that take place each year in the UK and to help visitors take part in them. Each event has its own page giving details of its timing and location, as well as a very brief history and notes on what to expect. Enjoy!
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![Haxey Hood is one of the ancient mass-participation festival games and is the earliest in the year, sometimes taking place in snow. Instead of a football, the players use “hoods” […]](https://calendarcustoms.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/The-Fool-is-Smoked-640x250.jpg "Haxey Hood")
Haxey Hood
Haxey Hood is one of the ancient mass-participation festival games and is the earliest in the year, sometimes taking place in snow. Instead of a football, the players use “hoods” […]
Featured Stories
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![The end of the summer fishing season is marked at Aberaeron on the Welsh coast with a mock funeral for the fish and a light-hearted celebration. A large mackerel puppet […]](https://calendarcustoms.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1356844230_1abd0c5047_o-195x110.jpeg "Aberaeron Mackerel Fiesta")
Aberaeron Mackerel Fiesta
The end of the summer fishing season is marked at Aberaeron on the Welsh coast with a mock funeral for the fish and a light-hearted celebration. A large mackerel puppet […]
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![There are ploughing matches for horse and tractor at locations throughout the British Isles, but the event at St Margaret Hope is unique in that the miniature ploughs are powered […]](https://calendarcustoms.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_0085-195x110.jpeg "Orkney St Margaret’s Hope, South Ronaldsay Boys Ploughing Match & Festival of the Horse")
Orkney St Margaret’s Hope, South Ronaldsay Boys Ploughing Match & Festival of the Horse
There are ploughing matches for horse and tractor at locations throughout the British Isles, but the event at St Margaret Hope is unique in that the miniature ploughs are powered […]
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![Crying the Neck is a West Country harvest custom where a corn dolly is made from the last sheaf and is hung in church for the year. The origins of […]](https://calendarcustoms.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/IMG_0340-195x110.jpeg "Cornwall Crying the Neck")
Cornwall Crying the Neck
Crying the Neck is a West Country harvest custom where a corn dolly is made from the last sheaf and is hung in church for the year. The origins of […]
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