Cornish festivals
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The cultural calendar of Cornwall is punctuated by numerous historic and community festivals and celebrations. In particular there are strong links between parishes and their patronal feast days (which are often the feast days are not directly linked to official church patronal celebrations). There is also a tradition of holding celebrations associated with tin mining and fishing.
[edit] Modern community festivals
Since the 1980s there has been explosion of community based festivals in Cornwall often named after a famous local residents. These have included Murdoch day in Redruth, The Daphne du Maurier Festival in Fowey Tevithick Day in Camborne and the Montol Festival in Penzance. Other modern festivals include, Falmouth oyster festival, Newlyn fish festival, Lowender Peran in Perranporth and many more.
[edit] Historic festivals
The following list is of festivals celebrated past and present in Cornwall which can be traced back over 100 years or more, often these celebrations have considerable antiquity. These have been classified separately to the above because they form a part of a Cornish indigenous culture. There have been attempts in many cases to revive these celebrations where they have fallen into disuse.
† = Parish feast day
| Name | Location | Current Status | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allantide | Throughout Cornwall | Unknown (not publicly celebrated) - Largely replaced by Halloween | 31st of October | |
| Golowan † | Throughout Cornwall in particular Penzance | Revived in various forms 1920s, 1935, 1990 | Around the 23rd of June | |
| Furry dance † | Helston | Continuously celebrated with a short break in the Victorian era | May 8th unless a Monday or Sunday then Saturday before. | |
| 'Obby 'Oss festival | Padstow | Stiil celebrated | Around the May 1st | |
| St Piran's Day † | Across Cornwall | Originally a Miners holiday now Cornwall's national day | March 5th | |
| Nickanan Night also called Peasen Monday | Across Cornwall | Unknown - not publicly celebrated | Shrove Monday | |
| Tom Bawcock's Eve | Mousehole | Continuously celebrated prior to World War 2, Revived in the 1950s | 23rd of December | |
| Picrous Day | East Cornwall | Unknown - Some small scale examples may exist near Luxulyan | Second clear Thursday before Christmas | |
| Chewidden Thursday | West Cornwall | Unknown - Not publicly celebrated | First clear Thursday before Christmas | |
| Madron Feast † | Madron, Heamoor & formerly Penzance | Still celebrated | Advent Sunday and Monday | |
| St Just Feast † | St Just in Penwith | Still celebrated | First Sunday and Monday in November | |
| West Cornwall May Day celebrations | West Cornwall | Revived since 2001 in St Ives and since 2008 in Penzance | May the 1st | |
| Guise dancing | Throughout Cornwall | Still practised in some places including the Montol Festival in Penzance | Christmas through to Twelfth Night and Plough Monday | |
| Paul Feast † | Paul, Mousehole and Newlyn | Continuously celebrated | Sunday nearest the 10th of October and week following | |
| Sennen Feast † | Sennen | Still celebrated | Advent Sunday | |
| Crying The Neck sometimes known as Guldize | Throughout Cornwall | Still celebrated | September | |
| Bodmin Wassail | Bodmin | Still celebrated | Old Twelfth Night (17th of January) | |
| Knill Ceremony | St Ives | Still Celebrated (started 1801) | 25th July (St James Day every 5 years) | |
| St Keverne Feast † | St Keverne | Still celebrated | Sunday nearest the 18th of November | |
| St Breward Feast † | St Breward | Still Celebrated | Sunday nearest 22nd of February | |
| St Day Feast † | St Day, Carharrack | Still Celebrated | End of June | |
| St Buryan Feast † | St Buryan | Still Celebrated | Sunday nearest the 13th of May | |
| Mevagissey Feast † | Mevagissey | Still Celebrated - Related to Golowan | Around 29th June (St Peters Day) | |
| Towednack Cuckoo Feast † | Towednack | Still Celebrated | Around 28th April | |
| Goldsithney Charter Fair | Goldsithney | Still Celebrated | St James Day (Old Style) 5th August | |
| Zennor Feast † | Zennor | Still celebrated | Sunday nearest the 6th of May | |
| Porthleven Petertide celebrations † | Porthleven | Still celebrated- Related to Golowan | Near the 29th of June | |
| Gulval Feast † | Gulval | Still celebrated | Near 6th of June | |
| St Ives Feast † | St Ives | Still celebrated | Sunday and Monday nearest the 3rd of February | |
| Hurling the Silver Ball | St Columb Major | Still celebrated | Shrove Tuesday and then again on the Saturday eleven days later | |
| Mawgan Feast † | Mawgan-in-Meneage | Still celebrated | Near June the 8th | |
| Mullion Feast † | Mullion | Still celebrated | Sunday nearest 6th of November | |
| Camborne Feast † | Camborne | Still celebrated | Near 15th November | |
| Sancreed Feast † | Sancreed | Still celebrated (Patronal church service) | Early June | |
| St Endellion Feast † | St Endellion | Still celebrated (Patronal church service) | Sunday nearest May Bank Holiday | |
| St Stythians Feast † | Stithians | Still celebrated - Agricultural show held on the following Monday | Sunday closest to 10th July | |
| St Allen Feast † | St Allen | Still celebrated - Unknown to what extent | 22nd February (Traditionally Rogation Sunday) | |
| Bodmin Riding | Bodmin | Still celebrated as part of Bodmin Heritage and Riding festival | Late June early July | |
| Morvah Fair | Morvah / West Cornwall | No longer celebrated - Morvah Pasty Day takes place on the same date, claimed by some to be the largest Lughnasadh celebration outside Ireland | August 1st | |
| St Erth Feast † | St Erth | Unknown | October 31st | |
| Ludgvan Feast† | Ludgvan | Still celebrated | Monday and Sunday nearest 29 January | |
| St Hilary Feast† | St Hilary, Cornwall | Still celebrated | Mid - January | |
| Davidstow Feast† | Davidstow | Still celebrated | March 1st | |
| Gunwalloe Feast† | Gunwalloe | Still celebrated | March 3rd | |
| Porthleven Feast† | Porthleven | Still celebrated | February 22nd | |
| St Kew Feast† | St Kew | Still celebrated | February 8th |
