My regular look ahead to events happening next month that would probably be in my events guide, if only they weren’t happening outside the psychological barrier of the M25 motorway.

Not much happening next month – everyone seems busy with Christmas and avoiding the cold.

National Mistletoe Day 1st Dec
A procession in the town famous for its annual mistletoe and holly auctions in the run up to Christmas. Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire

Rottingdean Smugglers 1st Dec
A torch lit procession of pirates and smugglers and a firework display on the beach. Rottingdean, East Sussex

Fakenham Christmas Tree Festival 1st-6th Dec
From 10am – 8pm each day the Church is lit up by 90 Christmas Trees, each decorated for one of the 78 charities taking part. Fakenham, Norfolk

Scroggling the Holly Weekend 2nd Dec
A modern custom to decorate the town centre with boughs of holly as children in tradition dress progress with moris dancers etc through the high street. Haworth, Yorkshire

Dunster by Candlight 7th-8th Dec
This annual weekend event when this preserved medieval village turns its back on the present and lights its streets with candles. Dunster, Somerset

Enthronement of the Boy Bishop at Salisbury Cathedral 9th Dec
A chorister is made Bishop for the day in a medieval tradition that demoted the Bishop for the day to remind him of the humble and meek. Salisbury, Wiltshire

Montol 2012 21st Dec
Mid-winter festival with a torchlit procession through the town by traditional characters ending in a burning of a straw man on a bonfire. Penzance, Cornwall

Burning the Clocks 21st Dec
People gather to make paper and willow lanterns to carry through their city and burn on the beach as a token for the end of the year. Brighton, East Sussex

Tolling the Devil’s Knell 24th Dec
Every Christmas Eve the bell of Dewsbury parish church is tolled once for each year of the Christian era, to remind the devil of his defeat. Dewsbury, West Yorkshire

Hunstanton Christmas Day Swim 25th Dec
Over 100 swimmers in fancy dress take place in this annual event in the local lake. Hunstanton, Norfolk

The Ba 25th Dec
Traditional street rugby, played by the Uppies and Doonies with a much prized locally made leather Ba’ (ball). The Ba’ is thrown up outside St.Magnus Cathedral and the game ranges through the town. Kirkwall, Orkney Islands

Kenilworth Duck Race 26th Dec
Around 1,500 yellow plastic ducks are released into the local river and raced down to the finish line. Kenilworth, Warwickshire

Boxing Day Pram Race 26th Dec
Since the first race in 1968 the event has grown from six prams and a dozen runners to a hundred teams and over 800 participants. Windlesham, Surrey

Pagham Pram Race 26th Dec
60 year old tradition – started by demobbed servicemen who decided they would race. One pushing the pram and another as a baby in it, making sure to drink a pint each, at all the village pubs. Pagham, West Sussex

Marshfield Mummers 26th Dec
Seven figures, led by the Town Crier with his handbell, dressed in costumes made from strips of newsprint and coloured paper, perform their play several times along the high street. Marshfield, Gloucestershire

The City of Gloucester Mummers 26th Dec
A recreation of medieval mummers plays that started again in 1969. Gloucester, Gloucestershire

Boxing Day Football 26th Dec
The Fishermen & Firemens Boxing day football match is Scarborough’s oldest surviving custom – according to local evidence. Scarborough, Yorkshire

Burravoe Tar Barrel 28th Dec
Locals drag a flaming barrel through the town to mark the end of the year. Burravoe, Shetland

Stonehaven Fireballs Festival 31st Dec
A procession through the town centre by local men swinging large fireballs around their heads. Stonehaven

Allendale Baal Fireballs 31st Dec
A selected hereditary team of 45 barrel carriers known as Guisers dressed in fancy dress carry flaming whiskey barrels through the streets to the town centre where they are used to ignite a ceremonial bonfire Allendale, Northumberland

Comrie Flambeaux Procession 31st Dec
At midnight, eight flambeaux or fiery torches begin their procession around the village before being ceremoniously thrown in the River Earn. Comrie, Perthshire

 

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