![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!
#AdvertismentBrowse all Customs by Month
![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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![Ad Gefrin is a modern distillery and museum of Anglo-Saxon life in the picturesque village of Wooler in rural Northumberland. Inspired by the nearby site of a seventh century royal […]](https://calendarcustoms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/IMG_2179-195x110.jpeg "Wooler: Ad Gefrin Yule Straw Goat Parade")
Wooler: Ad Gefrin Yule Straw Goat Parade
Ad Gefrin is a modern distillery and museum of Anglo-Saxon life in the picturesque village of Wooler in rural Northumberland. Inspired by the nearby site of a seventh century royal […]
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![The medieval hilltop chapel situated on the summit of the hill at Abbotsbury in Dorset is dedicated to St Catherine of Alexandria, who was famously martyred on a cartwheel, giving […]](https://calendarcustoms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/IMG_8679-2-195x110.jpeg "Abbotsbury Candles on St Catherine’s Hill")
Abbotsbury Candles on St Catherine’s Hill
The medieval hilltop chapel situated on the summit of the hill at Abbotsbury in Dorset is dedicated to St Catherine of Alexandria, who was famously martyred on a cartwheel, giving […]
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![November 20th is the feast day of St Edmund; at Southwold it is celebrated by a dole of special buns at the local church which is dedicated to the saint. […]](https://calendarcustoms.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/IMG_6684-195x110.jpeg "Southwold St Edmunds Sticky Buns")
Southwold St Edmunds Sticky Buns
November 20th is the feast day of St Edmund; at Southwold it is celebrated by a dole of special buns at the local church which is dedicated to the saint. […]
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Dance
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December
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