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Wren Day

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This article is about the celebration on 26 December in Ireland and other countries. For the English folk song, see Cutty Wren.

A taxidermy wren used for Hunt the Wren Day in Douglas, Isle of Man

Wren Day (Irish: Lá an Dreoilín), or Hunt the Wren Day (Manx: Shelg yn Dreean), is an Irish and Manx custom on 26 December, Saint Stephen's Day. Traditionally, men and boys hunted a wren and placed it on top of a staff decorated with holly, ivy and ribbons, or displayed it in a decorated box on top of a pole. This was paraded around the neighbourhood by a group of 'Wrenboys'—typically dressed in straw masks, greenery and colourful motley clothing—who sang songs and played music in exchange for donations. On the Isle of Man, the people afterwards held a funeral for the wren and danced around the wren pole. Wren Day has been undergoing a revival since the late 20th century, although the wren is no longer hunted and a stuffed wren is used instead. There were similar New Year traditions in parts of Britain and France until the nineteenth century. It is speculated that the tradition derives from ancient Celtic paganism.

Irish tradition

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Wrenboys on St. Stephen's Day in Dingle, Ireland.

Historically, and up until the mid-20th century in many parts of rural Ireland, groups of men and boys hunted a wren (also pronounced wran)[1] on St. Stephen's Day. They beat the bushes and hedges with sticks, and when a wren flew out they tried to down the bird by throwing sticks, stones and other objects at it.[2] Whoever killed the wren was believed to have good luck for a year.[2]

The dead wren was usually tied to the top of a long staff, which was decorated with holly, ivy and colourful ribbons.[3][4] A group of 'Wrenboys' or 'Droluns' (Irish: lucht an dreoilín), wearing straw masks and costumes, then carried it in procession around the neighbourhood. They sang songs about the wren—to the sound of drums, fifes and melodeons—going from house to house collecting money, food and drink.[3]

Today, the wren hunt no longer takes place, but Wren Day has survived or been revived in a few towns and villages, mainly in the southern parts of Ireland, such as in Dingle in County Kerry. Groups of Wrenboys hold small parades and carry around a stuffed or fake wren.[2][5] They usually collect money for charity or to host a dance or "Wren Ball" for the town.[4]

The Wrenboys have some similarities with the skeklers of Shetland.[6]

Song

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Whilst going from house to house, the Wrenboys would sing a song, of which there are many variations, asking for donations. One variation sung in Edmondstown, County Dublin, ran as such (the last two lines of which are used in several festive British begging songs and rhymes including "Christmas is Coming"):

The wren the wren the king of all birds
St Stephen's Day was caught in the furze
Her clothes were all torn- her shoes were all worn
Up with the kettle and down with the pan
Give us a penny to bury the "wran"
If you haven't a penny, a halfpenny will do
If you haven't a halfpenny, God bless you![7]

In a 1978 recording, the sean-nós singer Seosamh Ó hÉanaí discusses Wren Day activities and the lore behind the tradition. He sings a macaronic, English-Irish text: "Dreoilín, dreoilín, Rí na nÉan (Wren, wren, King of Birds)".[8]

Manx tradition

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Main article: Hunt the Wren
Hunt the Wren on the sand at Port St Mary, 2016

Traditionally, a wren was hunted on the Isle of Man every St. Stephen's Day, as in Ireland.[9] Usually, the wren's body would be hung inside a ball-shaped frame made from two wreaths of holly or ivy, called the 'Wren Bush', which may be decorated with ribbons.[9] In some villages, the wren's body was displayed in a small wooden box with windows, decorated with greenery and ribbons, called the 'Wren House'.[9] These Wren Bushes or Wren Houses were held aloft on poles and taken around the neighbourhood by 'wrenboys', some of whom were decked in greenery or flew coloured banners.[9] Singing "Hunt the Wren" (Shelg yn Dreean) and beating drums, they went from house to house asking for coins. When a coin was given, the donor might receive a feather from the wren. These feathers were kept or worn as an amulet to guard against supernatural harm and witchcraft.[9]

At the end of the day, a funeral was held for the wren and it was buried at the parish church by torchlight.[9] George Waldron recorded in 1731 that they buried the wren "with a whimsical kind of solemnity, singing dirges over her in the Manx language".[9] According to folklorist Mona Douglas, afterwards a living wren was placed in a cage inside the Wren Bush and the people danced around it. This wren was then set free, before the bush was burned on the dead wren's grave.[9] Manx folklore held that the wren's spirit would be reborn each year.[9] According to Douglas, in the eighteenth century the Manx church were hostile to the ceremony, but knew they could not prevent it. She wrote that when the group arrived at the church with the sacrificed wren, the vicar "took good care to absent himself from the proceedings, for they were frowned upon by the church at that time as being Pagan and superstitious".[9]

The tradition was revived on the Isle of Man during the 1990s. Today, it mainly involves music, singing and dancing around a decorated Wren Bush or Wren Pole in which a stuffed or fake wren is placed.[10][11]

Origin

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Wrenboys in Ramsey, Isle of Man, 1904

In regions where Wren Day was traditional, the wren was deeply revered; it was deemed a special bird, the "king of all birds", and harming it was taboo. However, on Wren Day this taboo was "replaced by highly complex rituals that grew out of ancient beliefs".[12] The ninth century Cormac's Glossary derives the Old Irish word for "wren", drean, from druí-én, meaning "druid bird", and says it is "a bird that makes prophecies". Another early Irish text, the Life of Saint Moling, calls the wren "the magus bird, because some take auguries from it".[13]

The origin of wren day and the wren hunt is obscure. According to Elizabeth Atwood Lawrence, "evidence suggests an origin in the far distant past".[14] Edward Allworthy Armstrong infers that the wren hunt "belongs to the great category of rites which have as their object the banishment of evil influences at a seasonal crisis".[15] Scholars generally believe that the wren hunt has ancient pagan origins and is related to animal sacrifice and the winter solstice.[16][17] Folklorist Christina Hole speculates that it may have derived from the periodic sacrifice of a sacred king.[18]

There are several folk tales about the origin of the wren hunt. Armstrong wrote that the "multiplicity and inconsistency" of the stories "show that we are dealing with a very ancient ceremonial, the origin of which has been forgotten".[19] Christina Hole described the stories as "mere rationalizations of a ritual that appears to be older than Christianity".[20]

Some stories say that it is hunted on St Stephen's Day because a wren wakened the guards when Saint Stephen tried to escape from captivity. Another says that the saint had a pet wren that was stoned to death along with him. Yet another rationalizes it as a memorial of the Massacre of the Innocents.[21]

Possibly the earliest written reference to a wren hunt is a medieval Irish legend about Saint Moling. It says that the saint cursed the wren to be hunted by young people because it ate his pet fly.[19] Other legends say that Irish people hunt the wren once a year because it alerted their enemies as the Irish were about to ambush them; these enemies are variously said to be the Vikings, Cromwell's army, or the Williamite army.[19]

In Manx folklore, the origin of the wren hunt (Manx: shelg yn drean) is linked with a beautiful fairy woman. The story goes that the woman enchanted all the men of the island to follow her in hope of marrying her, and they neglected their homes and fields. The fairy woman lured the men into the sea where they drowned. One day a hero found a way of averting her charms. But before she could be defeated, she shapeshifted into a wren and flew away. However, she was cursed to re-appear once a year as a wren, and this is why the wren is hunted on this day.[22][23]

In Welsh mythology, the hero Lleu Llaw Gyffes (Lleu of the Skilful Hand) gains his byname by striking a wren with perfect aim, "between the sinew and the bone".[24]

Parallel traditions

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The typical wren hunt occurred in Ireland, the Isle of Man, Wales, England and France, "areas where Celtic tradition was firmly entrenched".[25] Although there was some regional variation, the basic pattern of the ritual was the same wherever it occurred.[25] In Britain and Ireland, the wren hunt was usually held on St. Stephen's Day, but wren hunts also took place on Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, and Twelfth Day (5 January).[26] By the early 20th century, industrialization and changing beliefs had begun to erode the tradition.[27]

Wales

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In Wales, the tradition of 'hunting the wren' (Welsh: Hela'r Dryw) took place every Twelfth Day, and the practice continued in Pembrokeshire until the beginning of the twentieth century.[28] Similarly to some Manx traditions, in Wales the dead wren was typically placed in a "Wren House" – a small wooden box with windows, decorated with greenery and ribbons – which was then carried around the neighbourhood by "wren bearers".[29] In some cases, "wrenboys" caught a live wren and placed it in the Wren House, and then the wrenboys called on people to make offerings to the little "king" until the end of the day, when the bird was set free.[30]

England

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The tradition was found in parts of England, but it gradually died out or was put down by the authorities by the mid-nineteenth century.[28] In the late 20th century, Pete Jennings and the Old Glory Molly Dancers revived the wren hunt in Suffolk, and it has been performed in Middleton on the evening of every Boxing Day since 1994.[31]

France

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There are similar mid-winter wren ceremonies in parts of France. James George Frazer describes in his The Golden Bough a wren-hunting ritual in Carcassonne, held in early December.[32] The Fête du Roi de l'Oiseau (festival of the king of birds) was first recorded in 1524 at Puy-en-Velay, and is still celebrated.[33] In parts of France, whomever was first to strike, catch or kill the wren was honoured with the title of King. He led a torchlit procession around the town, carrying the wren on a pole. They stopped at each house, and wrote vive le roi! (long live the king) on each door.[34]

The Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés has a document from 1663 in which the prior undertakes to give thirty pots of wine each year to the bacheliers, if they bring him a living wren as tribute at Christmas or New Year.[35] A captured wren was also given as tribute to the priory of Châteauponsac each New Year's Day. The man who caught the wren became "King of the Fête" and the wren was paraded to the church accompanied by fife and drum.[35]

Galicia

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In Galicia, Spain, the Caceria do rei Charlo (Chase of King Charles) was performed. The inhabitants of Vilanova de Lourenzá would chase down a wren and, after tying it to a pole, would parade it and show it to the abbot of the local monastery, who would then offer them food and drink and appoint two leaders of the local town council out of the four candidates proposed by townsmen. This tradition has been recorded since the 16th century.[36] It is unclear which specific date this tradition was performed on; sources call it "New Year's Day", which may not refer to the New Year on the Gregorian calendar but instead to the day after Christmas, which at that time was considered the end of the year.[37]

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In 1955 Liam Clancy recorded "The Wran Song" ("The Wren Song"), which was sung in Ireland by wrenboys.[38] In 1972 Steeleye Span recorded "The King" on Please to See the King, which also reflects the tradition; on their album Time they made another version, "The Cutty Wren", named after the traditional English folk song. "Hunting the Wren" appears on John Kirkpatrick's album Wassail!. The Chieftains made a collection of wrenboy tunes on The Bells of Dublin. In the song "The Boys of Barr na Sráide", which is based on a poem by Sigerson Clifford, the wren hunt is also a prominent theme. Lankum's 2019 album The Livelong Day includes a track called "Hunting the Wren" that references several of the legends and practices connected with Wren Day.

"The Wren [Wran] Song" is also on the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem's 1995 album Ain't It Grand Boys: A Collection of Unissued Gems, as the last song in "Children's Medley".[39]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Christmas and New Year in Ireland Long Ago". Ballinagree.freeservers.com. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  2. ^ a b c Lawrence, Elizabeth Atwood (1997). Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol. University of Tennessee Press. pp. 46–48, 60–63.
  3. ^ a b Lawrence, Elizabeth Atwood (1997). Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol. University of Tennessee Press. pp. 55–56.
  4. ^ a b Eveleth, Rose. "The Irish Used to Celebrate the Day After Christmas by Killing Wrens". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  5. ^ "Wren Day: 'Those that went before us kept it going from generation to generation'". The Irish Times.
  6. ^ Smith, Laura (30 October 2020). "The Honest Truth: A spooky step back in time to skekling, Shetland's ancient form of Halloween guising". The Sunday Post. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  7. ^ The Schools' Collection, Volume 0797, Page 44
  8. ^ "Lore About the Wren". Cartlanna Sheosaimh Uí Éanaí. 2 March 1978. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lawrence, Elizabeth Atwood (1997). Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol. University of Tennessee Press. pp. 48–53.
  10. ^ Hunting the Wren. BBC Isle of Man.
  11. ^ "Hunt the Wren: Ancient Manx tradition grows in popularity". BBC News. 26 December 2021.
  12. ^ Lawrence, Elizabeth Atwood (1997). Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol. University of Tennessee Press. p. 46.
  13. ^ Hutton, Ronald (1996). The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain. Oxford University Press. p. 97.
  14. ^ Lawrence, Elizabeth Atwood (1997). Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol. University of Tennessee Press. p. 108.
  15. ^ Armstrong, Edward (1958). The Folklore of Birds. London: Collins. p. 292.
  16. ^ Lawrence, Elizabeth Atwood (1997). Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol. University of Tennessee Press. pp. 100, 108, 117, 123.
  17. ^ Armstrong, Edward (1958). The Folklore of Birds. Collins. p. 161.
  18. ^ Hole, Christina (1976). British Folk Customs. Hutchinson. p. 112.
  19. ^ a b c Armstrong, Edward (1958). The Folklore of Birds. Collins. p. 160.
  20. ^ Hole, Christina (1976). British Folk Customs. Hutchinson. p. 112.
  21. ^ Lawrence, Elizabeth Atwood (1997). Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol. University of Tennessee Press. p. 100.
  22. ^ Lawrence, Elizabeth Atwood (1997). Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol. University of Tennessee Press. pp. 103–104.
  23. ^ Hunting the Wren, bbc.co.uk, 23 Dec 2005
  24. ^ Lawrence, Elizabeth Atwood (1997). Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol. University of Tennessee Press. p. 106.
  25. ^ a b Lawrence, Elizabeth Atwood (1997). Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol. University of Tennessee Press. p. 60.
  26. ^ Lawrence, Elizabeth Atwood (1997). Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol. University of Tennessee Press. p. 47.
  27. ^ Lawrence, Elizabeth Atwood (1997). Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol. University of Tennessee Press. p. 63.
  28. ^ a b Lawrence, Elizabeth Atwood (1997). Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol. University of Tennessee Press. p. 66.
  29. ^ Lawrence, Elizabeth Atwood (1997). Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol. University of Tennessee Press. p. 53.
  30. ^ Lawrence, Elizabeth Atwood (1997). Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol. University of Tennessee Press. p. 59.
  31. ^ Old Glory & The Cutty Wren by Pete Jennings.
  32. ^ The Golden Bough by James George Frazer, NuVision Publications, LLC, 2006, ISBN 1-59547-959-7, ISBN 978-1-59547-959-4. pp.294-295
  33. ^ "Fête du Roi de l'Oiseau". Lonely Planet. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  34. ^ Lawrence, Elizabeth Atwood (1997). Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol. University of Tennessee Press. p. 116.
  35. ^ a b Armstrong, Edward (1958). The Folklore of Birds. Collins. p. 146.
  36. ^ FERNANDO ALONSO ROMERO. "La cacería del reyezuelo: análisis de una cacería ancestral en los países célticos" (PDF). Anuariobrigantino.betanzos.net. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  37. ^ "La cacería del reyezuelo: análisis de una cacería ancestral en los países célticos" by Fernando Alonso Romero at Anuario Brigantino, issue 24, 2001
  38. ^ Example:"The Wren The Wren", Celtic Tradition, Amiga, 1987.
  39. ^ "Ain't it Grand Boys: A Collection of Unissued Gems", the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, Columbia Records, 1995. Children's Medley, ibid.
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