Loud and Proud: Battle Jackets as Folk Art
What unites bikers, punks, feminists and sewing? Scott Malthouse explores the social history of battle jackets.
New Year Celebrations: Herrings in Bonnets at Hogmanay?
In a strange old custom, the Dundee dressed herring is dressed in a crepe paper skirt and bonnet combination in bright colours, tied to ribbons, and carried through the streets and into homes on Hogmanay night.
St Patrick’s Day Traditions: ‘My Patrick’s Pot on you!’
St Patrick’s Day, 17th March, is a key fixture in the Irish calendar, and indeed in many other places throughout the world. It may not have the wealth of traditions associated with the traditional Irish quarter days but its popularity and the festivities associated with it make it central to the Irish year.
Sky Goddesses, Spring Mechanisms, or Sprites: Why Is it Bad Luck to Open an Umbrella Inside?
Madeline D’Este explores the possible origins behind the common belief that the act of opening an umbrella indoors invites bad luck.
What is First-footing and Can It Improve Your Year?
First-footing as a New Year custom is most common in Scotland and the north of England, but it does have regional, and international, variations.