''Festivals'' is a 1973 anthology of
festival-related
folklore from around the world that have been compiled by
Ruth Manning-Sanders. According to the book's
dust jacket, "This potpourri of festivals reveals fascinating customs and celebrations from many countries of the world. Each special day is preceded by background material on the origins of the holiday."
Some of the special days covered are (using Manning-Sanders' words and spellings):
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is a festival observed in most of the world on 1 January, the first day of the year in the modern Gregorian calendar. 1 January is also New Year's Day on the Julian calendar, but this is not the same day as the Gregorian one. Wh ...
,
Saint Bride's Day, the
Japanese Snow Festival,
Saint Valentine's Day,
Saint Patrick's Day,
Shrove Tuesday,
Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras (, ) refers to events of the Carnival celebration, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday, which is known as Shrove Tuesday. is French for "Fat ...
,
Easter Day,
All Fools' Day, the
Bright Weather Festival,
Saint George's Day,
May Day, the
Padstow Hobby Horse,
Independence Day
An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...
,
Michaelmas Day,
Saint Crispin's Day,
Hallow E'en, the
Fifth of November,
Hogmanay
Hogmanay ( , ) is the Scots word for the last day of the old year and is synonymous with the celebration of the New Year in the Scottish manner. It is normally followed by further celebration on the morning of New Year's Day (1 January) or i ...
, and
Christmas.
For many of the festivals, the book includes the writings of some famous authors or historical personalities. Among those included in the book are
Robert Herrick,
Fiona Macleod,
Marco Polo
Marco Polo (, , ; 8 January 1324) was a Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known as ''Book of the Marv ...
,
John Donne
John Donne ( ; 22 January 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a clergy, cleric in the Church of England. Under royal patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul's ...
,
Sir Charles Lyall,
Norman Hunter,
Chiang Yee,
Flora Thompson,
Laurie Lee
Laurence Edward Alan "Laurie" Lee, MBE (26 June 1914 – 13 May 1997) was an English poet, novelist and screenwriter, who was brought up in the small village of Slad in Gloucestershire.
His most notable work is the autobiographical trilogy ...
,
Laura Ingalls Wilder,
Dylan Thomas
Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer whose works include the poems "Do not go gentle into that good night" and "And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Under ...
,
William Shakespeare,
Richard Cobbold
Richard Cobbold (1797 – 5 January 1877) was a British writer.
Life
Richard Cobbold was born in 1797 in the Suffolk town of Ipswich, to John (1746–1835) and the poet and writer Elizabeth (née Knipe) Cobbold (1764–1824). The Cobbolds we ...
,
P. L. Travers
Pamela Lyndon Travers (; born Helen Lyndon Goff; 9 August 1899 – 23 April 1996) was an Australian-British writer who spent most of her career in England. She is best known for the ''Mary Poppins'' series of books, which feature the eponymous ...
,
Oliver Herford,
Alison Uttley
Alison Uttley (17 December 1884 – 7 May 1976), ''née'' Alice Jane Taylor, was an English writer of over 100 books. She is best known for a children's series about Little Grey Rabbit and Sam Pig. She is also remembered for a pioneering time s ...
,
Richard Crashaw, Jon and
Rumer Godden, and
Alfred Tennyson.
Works about festivals
Folklore
1973 books
E. P. Dutton books
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