Easter, like Shrovetide, was formerly a season when many lively and energetic games were played. Here in Oxfordshire, older people sometimes refer to Easter Monday as Ball Monday, because of the numerous ball-games that used to be played on that day. Stoolball, knurr-and-spell, traphall, ninepins, handball, bowls and football were all games played in the Easter holidays. Another was called 'tipcat', which is not strictly a ball-game, but is played by striking in mid-air a piece of wood called a 'cat', with a stick or 'catstaff'.

All these games flourished at Easter, and many made their first appearance then, but they were also played at other times of the year. There were, however, some, like the bottle-kicking contest at Hallaton (I kid you not), and various games played with eggs, that were peculiar to Eastertide. Since eggs have always been symbols of renewed and continuing life, both in pagan and Christian times, it is likely that these egg-games once had a religious or magical significance, although now they simply appear as rather fun pastimes.

One such game, which was formerly popular both in France and in Britain, involved tossing eggs into the air and catching them again as they fell - the player who dropped one had to pay a forfeit. Another, which still survives, is 'egg-shackling'. In this one, a hard-boiled egg is firmly grasped in the right hand and used as a weapon to strike the eggs of other players, the object being to break these whilst keeping one’s own intact. The winner of each round keeps the broken egg for himself. Since hard-boiled eggs often prove unexpectedly tough, one boy may acquire a number of these forfeits before his luck deserts him, and his own egg goes down at last before some as-yet-undamaged specimen.

                                                                          Decorated eggs

Egg-shackling is often associated with the Polish custom known as Dingus, or Smigus. This takes place on Easter Monday, or ‘Ducking Monday,’ as it is often called in Eastern Europe. Young men and girls splash each other vigorously with water, and it is after this procedure, when both sides are thoroughly wet, that the egg-contest begins. In Hungary, unmarried girls used to be seized by the local young men at daybreak on Ducking Monday, dragged off to some pond or stream, and thrown in bodily. This was supposed to make them good potential wives!  Unfortunately, this grand old custom, where it survives, is no longer quite so drastic. The girls are no longer ducked, but buckets of water are tipped over them, or they are generously sprinkled or splashed with water from the well. They are, of course, expected to submit with good grace, and even in some areas, to pay for the privilege with gifts of painted eggs, or glasses of brandy.

Egg-rolling is a traditional Easter pastime which still flourishes in northern England, Scotland, Ulster, the Isle of Man, and Switzerland. It takes place on Easter Sunday or Monday, and consists of rolling coloured, hard-boiled eggs down a slope until they are cracked and broken, after which they are eaten by their owners. In some districts, this is a competitive game, the winner being the player whose egg remains longest undamaged, but more usually the fun consists simply of just the rolling and eating, such as where the players push their egg to the finish line using only their noses. At Connel Ferry in Argyllshire, it was customary for young men to roll their eggs in one place, and for young women to roll theirs in another, the man or girl whose egg went farthest and most smoothly would be the first person to marry in that particular group.
 
The egg rolling that takes place on the lawn of the White House or Capitol building has become an American tradition started, according to legend, by Dolley Madison in the early 1800's. Similar events are held in many other locations throughout the country.

Any handy bank, or hillock or slanting lawn may be used for egg-rolling but in some districts there are traditional sites. Thus, at Penrith, the rolling takes place in the Castle moat, at Derby, on Bunker’s Hill, and at Edinburgh, on Arthur’s Seat. The customary ground at Preston, in Lancashire, is Avenham Park where, on Easter Monday, very large crowds annually congregate, and thousands of gaily-coloured eggs can be seen rolling and bouncing down the steep grassy hillside towards the River Ribble. Here it is usual to bring oranges to eat with the broken eggs, and sometimes these are rolled as well. This, of course, is a purely modern innovation, intended simply to add to the fun; but perhaps the addition of these golden, sun-like globes is not altogether inappropriate in a custom that is sometimes said to have been originally a solar rite.

The ancient Lancashire custom of ‘pace-egging’, once widespread, is still to be found in some parts of the UK. ‘Pace’ comes from pasch , Old English meaning ‘Easter’. Pace-eggs are eggs specially decorated for the festival. Usually they are wrapped in onion-skins and boiled; this gives a golden, mottled effect to the shells. Decorating eggs in this way is a centuries old Easter custom. The Wordsworth Museum at Grasmere in the Lake District houses a collection of highly ornate eggs, originally made for the poet’s children.

Pace-eggs were eaten for breakfast on Easter Sunday, used as ornaments or for games, or handed out to ‘pace-eggers’. These were once a common sight at Easter in many communities, and can still be seen in the small Cotswold village of Linctus Peverell, where the tradition has survived. The young men of the village dress as mummers, complete with blackened faces and wearing animal skins, coloured ribbons and streamers. They elect one of their number to be the ‘Ganderman’. He is ceremonially coated in marmalade and feathers, and with the ceremonial ‘trolling stick’ placed in his hand (which is used to extract eggs and money from the spectators), he is led in procession through the village streets. The traditional ‘Gander Song’ is sung during the event, the first verse of which runs: 

At Burscough, near Ormkirk, there is a similar tradition that included other characters in the procession, such as the Noble Youth, the Lady Gay, the Soldier Brave and the Old Tosspot. The latter plays the part of a drunken buffoon and wears a long straw tail stuffed full of pins to catch any bystander unwise enough to grab hold of it.

A final warning for all potential ‘pace-eggers’: empty pace-egg shells must be crushed, for they are popular with witches, who use them as boats.

Saffy – March 2002
saffron200@hotmail.com