May 29.] RESTORATION OR ROYAL OAK DAY.
May 29.]
RESTORATION OR ROYAL OAK DAY.
In the Diary of John Evelyn (1859, vol. i. p. 373), under the date of May 29th, 1665, is the following statement:—
This was the first anniversary appointed by Act of Parliament to be observed as a day of General Thanksgiving for the miraculous restoration of His Majesty: our vicar preaching on Psalm cxviii., 24, requiring us to be thankful and rejoice, as indeed we had cause.[63]
[63] The special form of prayer in commemoration of the Restoration of Charles II., was removed from the Prayer Book by Act of Parliament (22 Vict. c. 2. March 25, 1859).
On this day the chaplain of the House of Commons preached in St. Margaret’s Church, Westminster, before “the House,” usually represented by the Speaker, the Sergeant-at-arms, the clerks, and other officers, and some half-dozen members. This observance has been discontinued since 1858.—Timbs’ Something for Everybody, 1861, p. 74.
It is customary, especially in the North of England, for the common people to wear in their hats the leaves of the oak, which are sometimes covered with gold leaf.—Brand, Pop. Antiq., 1849, vol. i. p. 273.