In these daft days between the Yule and Hogmanay celebrations it’s easy to lose track of time, as Fergusson suggests. He also claims this is the time to enjoy ourselves in all the usual ways:

Let mirth abound, let social cheer
Invest the dawning of the year;
Let blithesome innocence appear
To crown our joy;
Nor envy wi sarcastic sneer
Our bliss destroy.

The church fathers on the other hand — especially after the Reformation — had other ideas. Intrigued by a post on Bluesky by Old Weird Scotland about all the forbidden fun of the season, I decided to look into some of the records.

As you can see, Sampsoun and Cruik are accused of the crime of drinking and guising in diverse houses, though they only admitted to dancing not wearing masks or costumes. Similarly, the accused George Kay admitted to wearing his sister’s coat, though others with him were costumed, blacked their faces and a lad playing upon bones and bells. That Archie Hay had ‘a face about his loins and a kerchief about his face — and George Kay admitted to playing football! All had repentance to pay in the kirk.

As the page from 1599 lays out, there were a lot of things forbidden by the church, indeed ‘all profane pastimes’ whether football, snowballing, the singing of carols, guising, piping, playing the viol(in), and dancing. Women were not to be larking about in the toun, especially when they ought to be attending to the words from the pulpit.

What interests me is not so much all that is forbidden, but that so many people were willing to break those requirements, even if they had to pay a price. You can imagine they found it well worth the penance. In face, Old Weird Scotland pointed me to this serial guiser and ne’erdowell, the fantastically named Tyberius Winchester. I think he must end up in something…