The English year

"This illustrated book will guide you, month by month, day by day, through all the festivities of English life - from national celebrations such as New Year's Eve, to more regional customs such as duck-racing in Oxfordshire or the building of the Whitby Penny Hedge - explaining how they originated, what they mean and when they occur. It explores everything, from why we send cards on Valentine's Day or make pancakes on Shrove Tuesday, to more curious and outlandish practices such as cheese-rolling in Gloucestershire, the Padstow hobby horse procession, one village's annual Plague Sunday, Easter Monday bottle kicking in Hallaton and strange Bonfire Night parades in Lewes, plus more recent events such as Chinese New Year and the Notting Hill Carnival."--BOOK JACKET.