Throughout Christmastide the less well off members of the community would provide seasonal entertainment in the hope for some food, money or drink. Carol singing was alive and well, though with a slightly smaller repertoire. The main focus of singing, however, was by wassailing. Groups would go around to houses to wassail, singing traditional songs and carols, some with direct appeals for money, in what was frankly socially acceptable begging. The all important accessory to elevate this custom from vagrancy was the addition of a wassail-bowl. The frequent mention of wassailing in old English carols of the less ecclesiastical type demonstrates the centrality of this beloved bowl filled with hot spiced ale, roasted apples, toast, nutmeg and sugar to Yuletide traditions. Yet wassailing as begging was beginning to die out by the 1790s, though it remained strong in the West Country and carolling would continue in its stead. The wassail bowl, however, was heartily taken up within the home, where shorn of pleads for charity, it was used to toast the health of friends.

A more elaborate form of raising money during the Christmas season was the Mummers Play. The performance of which usually involved a short introduction followed by a comic fight scene. The main protagonists, usually St George and a Saracen or swaggering soldier, called Slasher, introduced themselves by boasting of their valour, before beginning their battle. At some stage St George would go down wounded and a doctor, often called Dr Quack, would be called upon to revive the fallen hero (though not before the physician was done vaunting his own brilliance).

Once the main action finished a host of minor characters would appear to provide irreverent comic scenes before the whole cast break out in song for a finale. The minor roles were usually a fool, who danced and played music, a man with a club and frying pan, called Beelzebub, a poor man who speaks of his family and a sweeper and money collector called Devil Doubt. These players would then go round with their pots and pans collecting money from the audience in the pub or house. Local names or those of recent heroes and villains such as Wellington, Nelson and Boney could sometimes be substituted.

Another Christmas fundraiser was the Sword Dance, now popular among Morris teams throughout the year, but was traditionally reserved for the festive season. Sword Dancing was prevalent throughout the North East in both its Long Sword and Rapper variations. The central aspect of both was the forming of the ‘lock’, when the swords would create an interlocking star pattern. The group would then dance around the lock whilst held aloft and end the performance with one member stepping into the middle and having the lock placed around their neck. The dancers, still holding the swords, would then circle their willing victim before untangling the lock and removing the sword, sometimes with the centre man feigning death.

These activities were not mutually exclusive and in many places performances would blur the lines between traditions, incorporating aspects of wassailing, the Mummers Play and the Sword Dance. In other places they remained more distinct. In some areas another feature, that of a hobby-horse, could be added to the mix. A hobby-horse was essentially a fearsome snapping carved head on a stick carried by one or two men, with or without the addition of a costume. The heads were commonly that of a horse (unsurprisingly) or a bull, though they could sometimes be more exotic.

A further variation were the ‘Guisers’, young men and sometimes women who would cross dress or wear handkerchiefs across their faces, sometimes both, who would sing, dance and make comic turns in the local pubs or on people’s doorsteps, sometimes with the addition of a hobby-horse. This activity could sometimes be used as an excuse to play pranks upon those in the community who had caused trouble during the year or to settle scores. It was particularly popular upon New Years Eve and in Scotland, however, similar activities took place upon 31st October and it is easy to see how these eventually merged with, and were over taken by, Halloween in the 20th century.

All these activities had the dual role of helping to raise money for the poor and provide fun for the community during the cold winter months. They also provide a licence for misconduct for young men and women and despite first appearances, hobby-horses like the Mummers Play had no pagan origins, being in fact fairly modern creations.

What they also highlight is the license for mischief that Christmas afforded and the festive cessation of social norms. The prime example of this was on Epiphany. The mid-winter celebrations had a long tradition of role-reversal, dating back to the medieval Court where a ‘Lord of Misrule’ was a prominent entertainer on 12th Night right up to the time of Mary. In noble houses and schools, however, the tradition continued until the Civil War, when genuine misrule made this particular entertainment much less funny. The Lord of Misrule would have power, dignity and impunity briefly conferred for the day and take control of the Court, house or school to organise a series of farcical spectacles, lord it over his betters and play pranks upon his erstwhile masters.

After the Civil War the Lord of Misrule would re-emerge in the form of the ‘Bean Feast’ of 12th Night parties. The ‘Bean King’ would take on much of the former role of the Lord of Misrule, organising games, play practical jokes and generally cause mischief. The Bean King was usually chosen from within the party by placing a bean, pea and sometimes a clove within the Twelfth Night Cake. The guest who found the bean was king, the pea queen and the clove a knave. These characters would then be assumed for the remainder of the party. Often comic courtiers would be added by drawing from a hat. Common characters were Sir Gregory Goose, Sir Tumbelly Clumsy, Miss Fanny Fanciful and Mrs Candour, the latter of which Jane Austen would play at a party in 1810. A role her biting wit would have found all too easy.