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From: Elizabeth Agar <>
Subject: Christmas Customs - #5 - M.A.Courtney
Date: Sun, 6 Dec 1998 17:21:47 +1100


This is the fifth and final "Christmas" transcript from "Cornish Feasts and
Folklore" by Miss M. A. Courtney, published in 1890.
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During the twelve days of Christmas card-playing was a very favourite
amusement with all classes. Whilst the old people enjoyed their game of
whist with 'swabbers", the young ones had their round games. I will append
the rules of two or three for those who would like to try them.

Whist (or whisk, as I have heard an old lady call it and maintain that was
its proper name) with 'swabbers'.

This game, which was played as recently as 1880, nightly, by four maiden
ladies at Falmouth, is like ordinary whist; but each player before
beginning to play puts into the pool a fixed sum for 'swabs'. The
"swab-cards" are - ace and deuce of trumps, ace of hearts and knave of
clubs. The four cards are of equal value; but should hearts be trumps the
ace would count double.

[swab = a card entitling its holder to a share of the stakes]

"Board-'em", a round game that can be played by any number of players, from
two to eight; it is played for fish, and there must never be less than six
fish in the pool. Six cards are dealt to each person; and the thirteenth,
if two are playing, the nineteenth if three, and so on, is turned up for
trumps. The fore-hand plays; the next player, if he has one, must follow
suit, if not, he may play another suit, or trump. The highest card of the
original suit, if not trumped, takes the trick and one or more fish,
according to the number staked. If you have neither card in your hand that
you think will make a trick you may decline to play, in which case you only
lose your stake; but should you play and fail to take a trick you pay for
the whole company, and are said to "be boarded".

"Ranter-go-round" was formerly played in four divisions marked with chalk
upon a tea-tray; or even, in some cases, on a bellows - it is now played on
a table, and is called "Miss Joan". Any number of players may join in it.
The first player throws down any card of any suit, and says:-

"Here's a ------- as you may see.
2nd playerHere's another as good as he.
3rd playerAnd here's the best of all the three.
4th playerAnd here's Miss Joan, come tickle me."

The holder of the fourth card wins the trick. He sometimes added the words
wee-wee; but these are now generally omitted. If the person sitting next
to the fore-hand has neither one of the cards demanded (one of the same
value as the first played, in another suit, he pays one to the pool, as
must all in turn who fail to produce the right cards. The player of the
third may have the fourth in his hand, in which case all the others pay.
The holder of the most tricks wins the game and takes the pool.

I once, about thirty years since, at this season of the year, joined some
children at Camborne who were playing a very primitive game called by them
"pinny-ninny". A basin turned upside down was placed in the centre of a
not very large round table. The players were supplied with small piles of
pins - not the well-made ones sold in papers, but clumsy things with wire
heads -- "pound pins". A large bottle full of them might, then, always be
seen in the general shop window of every little country village. Each in
turn dropped a pin over the side of the basin, and he whose pin fell and
formed a cross on top of the heap was entitled to add them to his own pile.
This went on until one player had beggared all the others. Poor children
before Christmas often begged pins to play this game, and their request was
always granted by the gift of two.

A wishing-well, near St. Austell, was sometimes called Pennameny Well, from
the custom of dropping pins into it. Pedna-a-mean is the old Cornish for
"heads-and-tails". - (See Divination at St. Roche and Madron Well.)

All Christmas cakes must be eaten by the night of Twelfth-tide, as it is
unlucky to have any left, and all decorations must be taken down on the
next day, because for every forgotten leaf of evergreen a ghost will be
seen in the house in the coarse of the ensuing year. The latter
superstition does not prevail, however, in all parts of Cornwall, as in
some districts a small branch is kept to scare away evil spirits.

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That's it folks!

Regards,
Liz in Melbourne

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