Nickanan Night (sometimes called Hall Monday or Peasen Monday) is a Cornish feast, traditionally held during

Shrovetide Shrovetide, also known as the Pre-Lenten Season or Forelent, is the Christian period of preparation before the beginning of the liturgical season of Lent. Shrovetide starts on Septuagesima Sunday, includes Sexagesima Sunday, Quinquagesima Sunda ...

, specifically on the Monday before

Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...

. Sometimes called roguery night in West

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, England, UK, this event was an excuse for local youths to undertake acts of minor

vandalism Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The term f ...

and play practical jokes on neighbours and family. The name Nickanan may come from the practice of knocking on doors and running away which is known as

Nicky nicky nine doors Knock, knock, ginger (also known as ding, dong, ditch in the United States) is a prank or game dating back to 19th-century England, or possibly the earlier Cornish traditional holiday of Nickanan Night. The game is played by children in many c ...

in some parts of the English-speaking world. The eating of

pea soup Pea soup or split pea soup is soup made typically from dried peas, such as the split pea. It is, with variations, a part of the cuisine of many cultures. It is most often greyish-green or yellow in color depending on the regional variety of pe ...

and salt bacon was also associated with this date.

19th century description

In the 19th century

Thomas Quiller Couch Jonathan Couch (15 March 1789 – 13 April 1870) was a British naturalist, the only child of Richard and Philippa Couch, of a family long resident at Polperro, a small fishing village between Looe and Fowey, on the south coast of Cornwall. A bl ...

described Nickanan Night:

Traditional rhymes

The following rhyme was used by the Cornish children during the evening and the following day

Shrove Tuesday Shrove Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent), observed in many Christian countries through participating in confession and absolution, the ritual burning of the previous year's Holy Week palms, finalizing one's Lenten s ...

: In St Ives, this was:

Trigg meat

In coastal communities it was also traditional to gather shell fish such as

limpets Limpets are a group of aquatic snails that exhibit a conical shell shape (patelliform) and a strong, muscular foot. Limpets are members of the class Gastropoda, but are polyphyletic, meaning the various groups called "limpets" descended indep ...

mussels Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other edible clams, which ...

and winkles. This practice was known as 'going a triggin' and the produce gathered known as 'trigg meat'. This is still practised at

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

by people living close to the

Helford River The Helford River ( kw, Dowr Mahonyer) is a ria (flooded river valley) in Cornwall, England, fed by small streams into its many creeks. There are seven creeks on the Helford; from west to east these are Ponsontuel Creek, Mawgan Creek, Polpenwit ...

Jack o' Lent

During this 'Nickanan' period another custom prevailed throughout Cornwall. In some villages it was usual to make a ' Jack o' Lent' a straw figure dressed not unlike a

Guy Fawkes Night Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Guy Fawkes Day, Bonfire Night and Fireworks Night, is an annual commemoration observed on 5 November, primarily in Great Britain, involving bonfires and fireworks displays. Its history begins with the ev ...

guy. This Jack-o-Lent was paraded through local communities and pelted with projectiles and then burned on a

Bonfire A bonfire is a large and controlled outdoor fire, used either for informal disposal of burnable waste material or as part of a celebration. Etymology The earliest recorded uses of the word date back to the late 15th century, with the Catho ...

.Courtney. M. A. ''Cornish Feasts and Feasten Customs'' This practice was until the late 19th century common in

Polperro Polperro ( kw, Porthpyra, meaning ''Pyra's cove'') is a large village, civil parish, and fishing harbour within the Polperro Heritage Coastline in south Cornwall, England. Its population is around 1,554. Polperro, through which runs the River P ...

. Fire rituals such as those associated with the Jack-O-Lent may also indicate Celtic pagan origins and may be closely related to the

Imbolc Imbolc or Imbolg (), also called Saint Brigid's Day ( ga, Lá Fhéile Bríde; gd, Là Fhèill Brìghde; gv, Laa'l Breeshey), is a Gaelic traditional festival. It marks the beginning of spring, and for Christians it is the feast day of Saint ...

festival.

Hurling

The popularity of

Cornish Hurling Hurling ( kw, Hurlian) is an outdoor team game played only in Cornwall, England played with a small silver ball. While the sport shares its name with the Irish game of hurling, the two sports are completely different. Once played widely in ...

during the 'Nickanan' season indicates similarity to St Ives feast and other festivities near

Candlemas Candlemas (also spelled Candlemass), also known as the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus Christ, the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or the Feast of the Holy Encounter, is a Christian holiday commemorating the presentati ...

. The 'Hurling of the silver ball' at

St Columb Major St Columb Major is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Often referred to locally as ''St Columb'', it is approximately southwest of Wadebridge and east of Newquay Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 200 ''Newquay ...

still occurs during the run up to Lent.

References