Be wise and don’t lend on the three Borrowing Days
This Sunday is Palm Sunday, the sixth in Lent and the last before Easter. It commemorates Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem riding on a donkey, while the welcoming crowds waved palm leaves.
Britain didn’t have palm trees, but that wasn’t going to stop our forebears from celebrating . In eighth--century Yo rk , church processions were enlivened by th e wav in gof will ow leaves, which were judged to be similar to palm. By the Tudor period the blessing of willow fronds had become widespread.
Willow was easy to find, and if Easter fell early sallow twigs had the bonus of silky flowers.
People called this pussy willow, because the fluffy silver pearls reminded them of kittens’ paws. The dangling, tassel-like flowers on birch and alder looked like kittens’ tails. And that’s how these flowers came to be called catkins – in Tudor times this was the name for a kitten.
Today pussy wil l ow i s cultivated in nurseries , en suring that the twigs flower in time fo r Palm Sunday. Real palm l eaves a re i mported for church decoration and to make palm crosses.
Small crosses used to be made from willow twigs in the shape of St Andrew’s cross, bound with yell ow ribbon. In North Yorkshire these used to be kept in homes as protection against witchcraft and the evil eye. The custom, believed to have died out i n the 1840s, has been revived, hopefully not because of the evil eye.
Not all the celebrations used to take place in church – in the eighteenth century, Pa l m Sunday gathering stook to the hills. There were hill top fairs , with games p l aye d up a nd d own thes lopes. Some wells, such as Lady Anne’s well in the Howley Hills near Morley, were said to change colour on the holy day and acquire he aling properties . But most people visited wells to prepare a sweet drink, made by dropping liquorice sweets into bottles of well water. Borrowing days The equinox last Friday was a wind prediction day, and if the old lore is right we can look forward to the winds veeri ng f rom westerly t o northerly during the next three months. So don’t cast any clouts just yet.
It’ll soon be time to say goodbye to March, but before it goes the month has one last surprise in store.
The end of March is said to borrow three days from April, and they’re not as spring-like as we might hope: “March borrowed of April three days, and they were ill. The one was sleet, the other was snow; the third was the worst that ever did blow.”
People used to be suspicious of these days for reas ons t hat had nothing t o do with the weather. There was a common belief that frequently used items – anything from boots to buckets – acquired something of their owner. If unscrupulous folk got their hands on said items they could be used to cast a spell of ill wishing.
So be wise; lend nothing during the three Borrowing Days. And don’t forget that nextweek , th e sun will be having a bit of alie in. On Pa l m Sunday British Summer Time begins and the clocks go forward one hour.