page_title: Clipping the church
section_title: Revival and current practice
hierarchical_section_title: Clipping the church / Revival and current practice
caption_attribution_description: English: Clypping the Church at St Thomas-on-The Bourne church, Farnham, Surrey on Mothering Sunday, 31 March 2019.
context_page_description: Clipping the church is an ancient custom that is traditionally held in England on Easter Monday or Shrove Tuesday or a date relevant to the Saint associated with the church. The word "clipping" is Anglo-Saxon in origin, and is derived from the word "clyppan", meaning "embrace" or "clasp". Clipping the church involves either the church congregation or local children holding hands in an outward-facing ring around the church. Once the circle is completed onlookers will often cheer and sometimes hymns are sung. Often there is dancing. Following the ceremony a sermon is delivered in the church and there are sometimes refreshments. Christians adopted this tradition to show their love for their church and the surrounding people. Currently, there are only a few churches left in England that hold this ceremony, and all of these appear to honour it on a different day.
context_section_description: It was revived at St. Peter's Church, Edgmond, Shropshire in 1867, and continues there to the present day. St. Mary's Church in Painswick in Gloucestershire is one of a few other churches that perform this custom, on a Shrove Tuesday, and today it is performed by children. Other churches that hold similar ceremonies include Burbage Parish Church, St Mary's Church, Wirksworth, and Guiseley Parish Church.
caption: Clipping the church at St Thomas-on-The Bourne, Farnham, Surrey on Mothering Sunday 2019
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "", "Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon PowerShot SX720 HS", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "180", "Image YResolution": "180", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image DateTime": "2019:03:31 10:16:06", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "246", "GPS GPSVersionID": "[2, 3, 0, 0]", "Image GPSInfo": "9364", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "180", "Thumbnail YResolution": "180", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "20468", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "5149", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/1250", "EXIF FNumber": "33/10", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "500", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Standard Output Sensitivity and Recommended Exposure Index", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2019:03:31 10:16:06", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2019:03:31 10:16:06", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "3", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "329/32", "EXIF ApertureValue": "55/16", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "55/16", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "43/10", "EXIF SubSecTime": "54", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "54", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "54", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "5184", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3888", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "Interoperability RelatedImageWidth": "5184", "Interoperability RelatedImageLength": "3888", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "9254", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "1036800/49", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "486000/23", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF CameraOwnerName": ""}