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A
Year of Orcadian Tradition
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"July is a riot of schoolchildren.
And a doucer riot of tourists, saying, "How quaint!"
Fields are scored with green and yellow geometry."
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| July |
In bygone days, there was no time in July
for festivals.
Although the the long days, and nights of
perpetual twilight, had descended on the islands, winter was
rapidly approaching.
Chores needed doing. Fish had to be caught and dried for the
winter. Peats were cut, spread, brought in and stacked - an
onerous task, believe me I had to do it as a boy - and other
work around the farm or croft carried out.
It is therefore not surprising that there are no recorded
traditions in Orkney surrounding the month of July. |
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Despite this, as always we can turn our
heads further north to the Shetland islands where a date
observed as "Martin o' Balymas Day" was observed.
This day, July 4, was also celebrated to the south of Orkney,
in Caithness, but here it was known as "St Bulgan's Day".
As these dates exist in the areas immediately surrounding
Orkney, it is fairly certain that we can assume the occasion
was once marked by Orcadians also.
The names of the day used in Shetland and Caithness is a
corruption of "St Martin of Bullion's Day" which
is in turn a mispronunciation of "Martin le Bouillant".
In the Northern Isles, this feast day took over the day traditionally
ascribed to St Swithin and was said to mark the beginning
of six weeks of dry weather. If the feast was greeted by
a gale of wind, however, as is unfortunately all too common,
rain would be sure to follow. |
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Contents |
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