St. Thomas's Day, 21st December.
The practice of women going Gooding is fast passing away. Very few bands of women are seen now in the towns, but at Farcet last year (1910) the widows received about two shillings each for their share.
Christmas.
For a few weeks before Christmas Day the Waits and Singers still come round during the night time and on Boxing Days they call for their Christmas Boxes. The singers have now degenerated into two or three children who huddle together on the doorsteps of houses and sing through the keyhole and letter box as fast and as loud as they can utter the various hymns of which, "When shepherds watched their flocks by night." As soon as they receive a halfpenny away they trot to the next house to repeat the performance.
A Green Christmas makes a fat Churchyard.
If a Christmas Day on a Thursday be,
A windy winter we shall see.
If the sun shines on Christmas day for however short a time, the following year will be good for fruit.
Innocents Day, December 28th.
Called "Dyzemass Day," it is considered very unlucky to begin anything on this day and about sixty or seventy years ago many old people kept this day more sacred than an ordinary Sunday.