Saint Piran's Day (), or the Feast of Saint Piran, is the
national day of
Cornwall
Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
,
held on 5 March every year. The day is named after one of the
patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...
s of Cornwall,
Saint Piran, who is also the patron saint of tin miners.
Origins
St Piran's Day started as one of the many tinners' holidays observed by the
tin miners of Cornwall.
Other miners' holidays of a similar nature include
Picrous Day and
Chewidden Thursday. The miners of Breage and Germoe observed St Piran's feast day as that of their patron saint until at least 1764.
"St. Piran's Day was said to be a favourite with the tinners who having a tradition that some secrets regarding the manufacture of tin were communicated to their ancestors by that saint, they leave the manufacture to shift for itself for that day, and keep it as a holiday." There is little description of specific traditions associated with this day apart from the consumption of large amounts of alcohol and food during 'Perrantide', the week leading up to 5 March.
[ The day following the St Piran's Day was known by many as 'Mazey Day', a term which has now been adopted by the revived Golowan festival in ]Penzance
Penzance ( ; ) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is the westernmost major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated in the ...
. The phrase 'drunk as a Perraner' was used in 19th century Cornwall to describe people who had consumed large quantities of alcohol.
Revival
The modern observance of St Piran's day as a national symbol of the people of Cornwall started in the late 19th and early 20th century when Celtic Revival
The Celtic Revival (also referred to as the Celtic Twilight) is a variety of movements and trends in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries that see a renewed interest in aspects of Celtic culture. Artists and writers drew on the traditions of Gae ...
ists sought to provide the people of Cornwall with a national day similar to those observed in other nations. Since the 1950s, the celebration has become increasingly observed and since the start of the 21st century almost every Cornish community holds some sort of celebration to mark the event. Saint Piran's Flag is also seen flying throughout Cornwall on this day.
Parades and celebrations take place in a number of towns and cities including:[An Daras]
* Bodmin
Bodmin () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated south-west of Bodmin Moor.
The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character. It is bordered ...
– A parade through the streets with Cornish pipers and a children's dance. Speeches by various notables, including the town mayor, Lord Lieutenant, and Grand Bard of Cornwall, followed by children's performances of Cornish plays and songs. 400 people attended the parade in 2009. The parade was started in 1999.
* Bude
Bude (, locally or ; Cornish language, Cornish ) is a seaside town in north Cornwall, England, in the civil parish of Bude-Stratton and at the mouth of the River Neet (also known locally as the River Strat). It was sometimes formerly known as ...
– a St Piran's day walk led by a piper and attended by hundreds of people annually.
* Callington – Shop decorations and a St Piran's Supper with Cornish music and poetry.[
* Falmouth – parade through the town including nearly 100 school children. Shop window competition.
* ]Penzance
Penzance ( ; ) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is the westernmost major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated in the ...
– annual performance of St Piran Furry dance and procession through the streets by 500 children. Annual St Piran Schools Concert.
* Redruth
Redruth ( , ) is a town and civil parishes in Cornwall, civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. According to the 2011 census, the population of Redruth was 14,018 In the same year the population of the Camborne-Redruth urban area, ...
– first held in 2011 and billed as the biggest St Piran's celebration in Cornwall. It includes entertainments in the town centre before a parade to the rugby club where there are a market and fairground rides, as well as a rugby match. During the evening there are various live music events at venues across the town. In 2011 over 2000 people attended the rugby club events while hundreds more attended events in the town. 2012 saw three separate marches from different parts of the town converge as one giant procession at the miner's statue before heading to the rugby club.
* St Ives – Procession through the streets.
* Truro
Truro (; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England; it is the southernmost city in the United Kingdom, just under west-south-west of Charing Cross in London. It is Cornwall's county town, s ...
– Procession through the streets with speeches outside Truro Cathedral
The Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Truro, Cornwall. It was built between 1880 and 1910 to a Gothic Revival design by John Loughborough Pearson on the site of the parish church of St Mary.
His ...
, which has a St Piran themed lunch menu in its café, and a Cornish folk music session afterwards. Hundreds of people attend the parade annually.
* United States – St Piran's day is also celebrated annually in Grass Valley, California, United States, to honour the Cornish miners who participated in the area's mining history beginning in the mid 19th century. In addition, Cornish genealogy organisations throughout the United States meet in celebration of Cornish history.
St Piran's Day Bank Holiday proposals
In 2006, Cornish MP Dan Rogerson asked the government to make 5 March a public holiday in Cornwall to recognise St Piran's Day celebrations. Some council workers in Bodmin
Bodmin () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated south-west of Bodmin Moor.
The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character. It is bordered ...
were granted the holiday in 2006, and from 2009 Penzance Town Council has offered its employees a St Piran's Day Holiday, following a campaign by the Celtic League. A total of nine town and city councils across Cornwall have given their staff the day off.
There have been other calls and petitions for a Cornish public holiday on 5 March. It has been suggested that a move from the May Day Bank Holiday to a St Piran's Day Bank Holiday in Cornwall would be worth £20–35 million to the Cornish economy.
In December 2011, Cornwall Council
Cornwall Council ( ), known between 1889 and 2009 as Cornwall County Council (), is the local authority which governs the non-metropolitan county of Cornwall in South West England. Since 2009 it has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary ...
voted in favour of asking the government to make St Piran's Day a bank holiday in Cornwall, should they decide to move the May Day holiday.
A petition for a county-wide day off on the Cornwall Council website closed with only 363 signatures, far short of the 50,000 signatures required.
Towns and cities that give their staff an annual day off work for St Piran's Day:
* Bodmin
Bodmin () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated south-west of Bodmin Moor.
The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character. It is bordered ...
Town Council
* Penzance
Penzance ( ; ) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is the westernmost major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated in the ...
Town Council
* Truro
Truro (; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England; it is the southernmost city in the United Kingdom, just under west-south-west of Charing Cross in London. It is Cornwall's county town, s ...
City Council
* Hayle
Hayle (, "estuary") is a port town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the mouth of the Hayle River (which discharges into St Ives Bay) and is approximately northeast of ...
Town Council
* St Columb Major
St Columb Major is a town and civil parishes in England, 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: Landran ...
Town Council
* St Blazey Town Council
* St Ives Town Council
* Camelford Town Council
* Redruth
Redruth ( , ) is a town and civil parishes in Cornwall, civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. According to the 2011 census, the population of Redruth was 14,018 In the same year the population of the Camborne-Redruth urban area, ...
Town Council
Schools that give parents the option of taking their children out of school for the day:
* Falmouth Secondary School
* Penryn Secondary School
* Mylor Primary School
* Mabe Primary School
* Mawnan Smith Primary School
* Flushing Primary School
See also
* List of county days in the United Kingdom
* St David's Day, a similar holiday in Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
* Yorkshire Day
References
External links
BBC St Piran holiday call for Duchy
Who Was St Pieran?
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Piran's Day
Culture of Cornwall
March observances
National days
Piran
Piran (; ) is a town in southwestern Slovenia on the Gulf of Piran on the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the three major towns of Slovenian Istria. A bilingual city, with population speaking both Slovene and Italian, Piran is known for its medieva ...
Cornish nationalism
Festivals in Cornwall
Annual events in England
Cornish festivals
County days