In The Holidays
Entry by: cecrouch
2nd July 2015
Crouchmas
When you're retired, life itself can be a holiday and you're free to select holidays of your choice. As a result, we've adopted May 3rd each year, an auspicious and fitting day for Crouches to have reunions, picnics, parties, and whatnot.
It all started in 326 A.D. when St. Helena is said to have discovered remnants of the True Cross in a Jerusalem pawn shop. The Church later established May the 3rd as a holy day for a Celebration of the Cross, known in Britain as Crouchmas ("Crouch" being Middle English for "Cross"). The holiday remained on the Church calendar until it was removed in 1969. Since our surname is Crouch, we adopted the day as a secular holiday. Interestingly, a friend by the name of Davis thought it was a great idea and exclaimed, "Wow, I'm going to start a Davismas!"
Because I was actually a cowboy in my youth, I appreciated learning that farmers in some rural Scandanavian areas also observe Crouchmas, celebrating it by letting the bull in to bewitch and woo the cows. That is quite logical as it ensures that calves are born in February or early March of the following year and are ready for market in the Fall.
Thus, we now have our own secular holiday observed at times by sending cute greetings to our friends and dining on a fine roast accompanied by goblets of mead, a wondrous and enduring beverage of the ages.
When you're retired, life itself can be a holiday and you're free to select holidays of your choice. As a result, we've adopted May 3rd each year, an auspicious and fitting day for Crouches to have reunions, picnics, parties, and whatnot.
It all started in 326 A.D. when St. Helena is said to have discovered remnants of the True Cross in a Jerusalem pawn shop. The Church later established May the 3rd as a holy day for a Celebration of the Cross, known in Britain as Crouchmas ("Crouch" being Middle English for "Cross"). The holiday remained on the Church calendar until it was removed in 1969. Since our surname is Crouch, we adopted the day as a secular holiday. Interestingly, a friend by the name of Davis thought it was a great idea and exclaimed, "Wow, I'm going to start a Davismas!"
Because I was actually a cowboy in my youth, I appreciated learning that farmers in some rural Scandanavian areas also observe Crouchmas, celebrating it by letting the bull in to bewitch and woo the cows. That is quite logical as it ensures that calves are born in February or early March of the following year and are ready for market in the Fall.
Thus, we now have our own secular holiday observed at times by sending cute greetings to our friends and dining on a fine roast accompanied by goblets of mead, a wondrous and enduring beverage of the ages.
Follow us on Twitter
Follow us on Instagram