The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1921-01-03
New Year Kissing
81. Customs
49,. 's-I- - SIS
-.
:: Saluting the Parish Pump
THERE has always been a close

the New Year-and some lovers are
not particular whose sweetheart she
is that they thus salute on this aus
picious occasion.
There Is an ancient kissing custom
associated with parish church IN
Lancashire. The legend is that any
one who at the first stroke of mid
night kisses the keyhole Of the church
door. and then runs right round the
edifice in time to kiss the keyhole be-
fore the last stroke of the hour. is GER
tain of good luck during the whole of
the year.
1t requires certain amount Of
nerve to enter this country churchyard
at the dead of night. even for such a
purpose. but rumor hath it that no
new year is born without someone es-
saving the race round the church. The
distance is such that it is impossible
for more than one person to thus court
a years luck.
.Churchyards have always been favo'
rite places for New Year oscplatiOns.
In thes Wensleydaie district, in days
gone by. all and sundry could kiss
without scandal" on New Years eve
in the porch Of the church.
1t was largely availed of. too, for
It is on record that the accommodate
ton fell lamentably short Of the de-
mand, and consequently there was
even more squeezing than kissing-if
that were possible.
A somewhat gruesome kind Of
churchyard kissing used to obtain
among the Basques Of the Pyrenees
on New Years eve. 1t was the custom
for the maidens to, then repair to the
churchyarfl, and on their fingers watt
kisses to the four quarters of the uni
verse. *, - > "a. ~ @,
a kiss was supposed to brush their
lips on return; andxif it was warm it
Indicated that they would marry and
be happy ever after. On the other
hand, If the Kiss was cold and Of the
earth earthly, the inference was that
single "biessedness' would be their lot.
The only means by which the omen
could be broken was by repairing to
the church and kissing the church bell,
gravestone and piece of coffin
wood. This remedy was very fire.
quently resorted to<and so supersti.
tious were the Basque maidens that
but for the consolation afforded some
Of them would have lost their reason:
In these degenerate days the lot Of
the mayor of Durham is far happier
than that Of his predecessors IN sn.
cient times. If tradition can be relied
on the chief magistrate waS then un-
der ap obligation to kiss the first COW.
the first sheep and the first pig
,roucht into the first market Of the
Few Year.
ibis went on until 1t occurred to a
resourceful occupant Of the mayoral
chair to interpret the custom as relat-
ing to the first three market women.
and henceforward they were the re-
cipients of the New Year kisses until
the ancient custom vanished alto.
gether.
It is much to be feared that the
abuse of kissing customs has been
largely responsible for their falling
into disuse, though some of them are
certainly more honored in the breach
than in the observance.
One such, which used to obtain in
Oxfordshire, concerned the tenants of
certain estates which they held on
condition that on~New Years morning
they publicly kissed the parish pump
or paid a drink fine to the assembled
populace.
AS might be supposed, the tenants
almost invariably preferred to pay the
fine, but it is on record that one mis-.
guided, close-fisted individual actually
kissed the pump in order to keep the
fine in his pocket.
The populace were so disguised at
his ,meanness and Infatuated at the
loss Of the liquor that they held him
under the pump and pumped the wa
ter on him until he was almost washed
away.
The exchange of drink for kisses
was, in the bad old days, not infre.
1uent New Years day practice in pub
lie houses, where it sometimes led to
rows and riots among the frequenters
At one hosiery in the metropolis
t was the custom for the landlord to
hand out to every member Of the op.
oosite sex who called before the hour !
If noon on New Years day measure
# ale IN exchange for kiss. r.
What the landlords better half
hought of this proceeding report say.
eth not. s,.,a I ). =, K III =
At another London public house it
1sed to be permissible forsthe first GUS
omer on New Years morning to kiss
he bar1naidby way4of pasing for his
iuuor. But only the first was entitled
o this privilege, and any subsequent |
.aller who presumed to pay in this
ashton had to forfeit half crown to !
he barmaid. One astute Hebe got her !
sweetheart to call first and mulcted |
several later callers Of the customary
lalf crown in the course Of the morn