Lost tradition of Easter 'skipping day' revived at Kenilworth Castle
People believed the old Good Friday tradition would guarantee a good harvest.
Chocolate eggs and hot cross buns are all Easter traditions we're familiar with. But have you heard of Easter 'skipping day'?
Well, English Heritage is bringing back the all-but-lost tradition this Easter with the activity being included at events at Kenilworth Castle, Warwickshire this weekend.
At the height of its popularity, ‘skipping day’ would have seen crowds of people, old and young, take to the streets on Good Friday, often using a repurposed washing line in lieu of a rope, in a tradition that was believed to help the crops grow.
A new survey reveals that, now, most people do not know that skipping was an Easter custom and had never heard of ‘skipping day’.
English Heritage Senior Historian, Amy Boyington, said: “During the twentieth century, whole families would try to skip all day on Good Friday, eating hot cross buns to keep them going. They believed skipping would bring good luck and guarantee good harvests or catches of fish in the coming year.
“We would love to hear from anyone who remembers – or has a relative who remembers – skipping on Good Friday. The rhymes that would have undoubtedly accompanied these Easter games are largely forgotten too, which is such a shame as oral tradition is so important in our understanding of social history.”
Today, the most popular modern Easter tradition is the egg hunt, with around 75% of parents saying their kids will hunt for eggs this year. Only around 1 in 10 parents with children aged 5-11 said that their kids would play skipping games although 85% of those surveyed thought it’d be fun to revive the tradition of an Easter skipping day.
Over the Easter weekend, English Heritage’s Easter Escapades will see historical performers enter the arena as they compete against each other in traditional Easter-themed games. Easter Escapades will take place at eight English Heritage sites from Friday 7 to Monday 10 April:
- Kenilworth Castle and Elizabethan Garden, Warwickshire
- Bolsover Castle, Derbyshire
- Beeston Castle and Woodland Park, Cheshire
- Stonehenge, Wiltshire
- Carisbrooke Castle, Isle of Wight
- Whitby Abbey, North Yorkshire
- Audley End House and Gardens, Essex
- Dover Castle, Kent