Northern Easter Traditions Quiz
by Northern Life
Do you know your egg rolling from pace egg or your buckle stealing from your coal carrying? Why not give our quiz a go and test yourself...
How well do you know your Lancashire and Yorkshire Easter traditions? Put your knowledge to the test below.
1 EGG ROLLING
The idea is to hard boil an egg, paint it in bright colours, and then chuck it down a hill. The first one to reach the bottom intact wins.
- Lancastrian superstition dictates that witches use broken eggshells to make boats. What should you do with your broken shells to avoid this?
- What Century did this tradition begin? 1600s, 1800s, or 1900s?
- What signifies good luck in egg rolling?
- Which park in Preston popularised Egg Rolling?
2 PACE EGGING
Pace eggs were simply eggs decorated for Easter. Traditionally, these decorated eggs were given to pace eggers, who dressed up and performed plays in the street.
- What were the eggs traditionally boiled in for a nice golden sheen?
- In which Calderdale village does the traditional pace egg play take place?
- ‘Pace Egging’ gets its name from the Latin ‘Pascha’, but what does ‘Pascha’ mean?
- In Pace Egging Plays, which Patron Saint often appears at the end?
3 BUCKLE STEALING
A forgotten tradition where men would steal ladies’ buckles from their shoes on Easter Sunday.
- When would the women take their revenge and steal the men’s buckles?
- What day would everyone be reunited with their buckles?
- In some towns, the tradition involved a different item of clothing; what did ladies steal in Filey?
- How did some people exploit the tradition of buckle stealing?
4 DIGGING DEEP
The World Coal Carrying Championships takes place each Easter Monday, with contestants racing while carrying coal.
- Where do the championships take place?
- How much is the prize sum for the men’s coal-carrying race?
- What year did the first race take place?
- The hearty debate between friends that eventually inspired the World Coal Carrying Championship took place where? Was it at the local pub, in the churchyard, or school?
5 NUTTERS
Every Easter Saturday, a troupe of folk dancers called the Nutters dance seven miles through Bacup and the surrounding areas.
- What is another name for the Nutters?
- Why are they called the Nutters?
- What type of shoes do they wear?
- What do the Nutters have to do at every pub they pass along their journey through Bacup?
6 RIVINGTON PIKE
Each Easter, hundreds of eager walkers turn up to ‘hike the pike’.
- What day does the walk take place?
- In 2009, at the annual Rivington Pike walk, there were memorable two costumed charity fundraisers. One was dressed as the Queen, but who was the other dressed as?
- The Rivington Pike Good Friday Walk, which started in the 19th Century, began as a Christian Pilgrimage to re-enact which part of Holy Week?
- Why was the fair moved from the slopes of the Pike down to the road?
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NorthernLife March/April/May 23