"Who brings lambs and first daffodils?
April and she lights a score of hill fires."
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| April |
April 1 was known as "Gokky
Day" (Fool's Day) or "Gokky Hunt" (Hunt the
Fool) and was celebrated in much the same way as "All
Fool's Day" with practical jokes and tricks played
on the unwary. |
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April 2 - "Tailing Day";
On Tailing Day Orcadian children would secretly pin "tails"
to each other while the more daring would target teachers
and other "upstanding" adults.
More recently, the tails were made from paper, or cord, but
there was a time when local butchers would save pigs' tails,
which were then attached to the unsuspecting, with bent pins.
The tradition is practically dead these days, although it
was one we still took part in as children. |
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April 3 - "Borrowing Day";
A rather strange custom, but anything borrowed on this day
became the immediate property of the borrower.
This tradition lingered on in Orkney until the 1930s. |
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April 16 - St
Magnus Day - Mansmas - the feast day of Orkney's most
revered saint. |
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Easter - In the islands, the term
"Easter" was not used until the middle of the
1900s.
However the festival was celebrated. Children were given
eggs and encouraged to eat as many as possible. |
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In South
Ronaldsay a unique Easter custom took place in which
the local boys competed in a ploughing match, using beautifully-made
miniature ploughs, more often than not family heirlooms.
At the same time, the girls - and boys sometimes - of the
island dressed up in ornately crafted, and colourful, symbolic
"horse" costumes. Click here for more details.
The "Festival of the Horse" now takes place later
in the year primarily, I believe, to cater for visiting tourists.
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