The surprisingly recent invention of Friday the 13th
For anyone who is even a little superstitious (and superstition sometimes feels more like an unavoidable burden than a conscious…
Halloween is the time for fairies
Among the many options available for Halloween costumes and decorations these days, from witches to zombies, from mummies to serial…
England’s forgotten Easter traditions
If you get up early enough on Easter morning, according to old English folklore, you might be lucky enough to…
The ancient roots of Christmas ghost stories
Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol is either, depending on your perspective, the ultimate Christmas ghost story or a complete subversion of the…
The Ministry of Justice is engaged in historical vandalism
This week, the Ministry of Justice launched a consultation on its plan to digitise its vast archive of wills. The…
The anarchy of bonfire night
Bonfire night festivities in Britain today are increasingly highly choreographed events: council-sponsored firework displays mounted by professional companies, sponsored by…
The mystery of the Baltic god in Kent
One of the stranger events of the summer of 2023 is the sudden and unexplained appearance, one night in early…
How the ancient rites of the coronation survived
It is a cliché to say that Britain’s customs were invented by the Victorians. In the case of the coronation,…
Does King Charles’ Green Man make him a pagan?
On 4 April the Royal Household revealed the design for invitations to the Coronation, the work of heraldic artist Andrew…
Is Christmas really a pagan festival?
It’s as much a part of the season now as baubles, tinsel and the Christmas Number One: those articles, blogs…
