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Blogs by Nancy Jardine
Handsel Monday 1/5/2015 3:24:21 PM
What's Handsel Monday? It could have been today, Monday 5th January, so I went off to find out. Handsel Monday was a tradition in parts of Scotland for more than a century from approximately the 1750s to around 1850. It effectively displaced the YULE customs of Christmas Day and those of New Years Day but also altered the gift giving a little. Those who adhered to it moved their celebrations to the first Monday AFTER the 25th Dec - but why? It's all down to Calvinist Scotland, and the conversion from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian one which we still use today. My researches today showed that the change over wasn't that simple a process. The explanation is quite lengthy so I've blogged about it at http://nancyjardine.blogspot.com Why not join me there to find out why this happened?
It just happens that I'm sure I can definitely use this quaint custom in my Family Saga since the beginning of it takes place in Fife, Scotland in the 1850s.
