To think more should be made of our local myths, folklore and traditions

[Feelingathomenow]

Britain, and indeed the whole of the western world, seems to be becoming increasingly divided. Political ideologies v political ideology, Religion against religion, race against race, sex against sex.

For a society to be strong, it needs common values, common beliefs and common rituals. It needs shared stories we can relate to and make reference to.

This is where myths and traditions have always played a vital part. Britain is full of local stories that people have all eagerly shared, stories everyone knew that brought people together. story telling is so very important to humanity and always has been. Traditions where everyone played their part either as participator or spectator, either way it brought a community together, these kinds of rituals have proven benefits for all.

People in Devon and Cornwall always knew about the pixies and people round here often blame/thank the Pixies for good/bad luck. We have the Tar barrels every November which provides a focus for people, newer traditions referencing the old, like the pirate festival, celebrations around the landing of William of Orange etc. People talk about hairy hands grabbing the steering wheel of your car on a certain road, people know about Kitty Jays grave where fresh flowers appear on the grave of a suicide victim buried at cross roads even if your back is turned for a second or the Devil riding out across the moors with his hell hounds.

Many of these myths and legends have made it into some of the most popular stories, The hell hounds on Dartmoor made it into the hounds of the Baskerville (thanks to Doyle’s coach driver (a mr Baskerville) when he visited Dartmoor.obviously the Fantastic JK Rowling has introduced Dobies and Boggarts to children far beyond Scotland/East of England respectively. People across the world read these stories

So should we be talking about these things more, esp in schools to give common stories of Britain (or wherever you live) not so tied to the big religions or political ideologies, things that do however, fulfil the need for common stories and rituals based in the landscape of where people live? Should more be done to encourage everyone to take part in local traditions to bring communities together? Also interested to hear of any local legends/traditions etc.

Think I've heard enough myths and fairy tales from tories and their gutter press/media in service to the individuals who own all of them, but thanks anyway.

I'm with you OP, also because many have been passed through orally through generations before we had universal education.

I have seen Morris dancing and I have seen Marvel movies and I know which one I find most entertaining.

(Not including The Eternals)

I am very proud of the local Sussex tradition of Bonfire and am really pleased to see it thriving with more societies starting up. We wunt be druv!

Sorry - for various reasons I' m dipping in and out of this (brilliant) thread.
So apologies if I've missed something (as in, it's already been said).
Quite a few Morris troups now have women members.
Some are all women e.g. Pecsaetan Morris (S Yorks/Peak District).
Also - a really good way of getting kids (esp those in Cheshire, N Staffs, NW generally) interested in 'folklore' is to introduce them to the books by Alan Garner ...
The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, The Moon of Gomrath, Elidor.
And ... if you live locally (ish) take them to Alderley Edge.
(Great topic OP - Thanks).

I live in the SouthEast of England (I'm not English) and this is something that really stood out to me when I moved here - and that still surprises me - there just isn't much myth or magic that people talk about, or that shared storytelling/folklore. To be honest a lot of English peoples grasp of their own history is pretty woeful (sorry, but in my experience that is true!) and maybe the things are connected?

Many thanks for this thread @Feelingathomenow it's lovely to see such a cross section of opinions.

For Folklore and associated subjects, these links may be of interest to some posters,

Probably the most pertinent source for subjects mentioned in this thread, many articles are free pdf downloads.
Heart of Albion Press
https://www.hoap.co.uk/catalogue.htm

Folklore, archaeology, earth mysteries and more.
Northern Earth magazine
https://northernearth.co.uk/

Irish folklore and much, much more, interactive website
voicesfromthedawn.com/

Ancient Sites, see what's on your doorstep and beyond
https://www.megalithic.co.uk/

Look up books, YouTube videos and more by Professor Ronald Hutton. Too many to link to.

I do think there’s a lot feeding into this, British people generally don’t like to sing their own praises, there seems to have been a bit of an ongoing bigging up of dumbing down generally. We like to see ourselves as welcoming to all but somehow this has got confused with this means we must not have a national identity. Also the whole science good non-science bad narrative has a impact.

But it’s lovely to see how many people here do value their myths and traditions - hopefully this will keep building.

We also need to make knowing our own history a real priority

Loving this thread.
In other cultures, having an interest in folklore and myth is considered an important part of your heritage. It just seems quite sad to me that here, talking about Celtic Myth can get you branded a racist.

I love the work of Sharon Blackie who was mentioned earlier on this thread.
Also want to mention artists Jackie Morris and Tamsin Abbott and give a shout for Seven Fables on Exmoor who all have an interest in folk traditions and are well worth following on social media.
For those who enjoy fiction with an English folklore twist, Liz Williams Fallow Sisters novels are worth checking out.

Interesting, so you think using culture as a means of unifying people is fun, but doing quadratic equations is useful?

The thing with leaving things to parents is many might not have the knowledge/skills.

I think in an increasingly diverse society school, and what it teaches, is a really important common ground. We need to carefully consider what is really important to teach there.

Thank you for some great links, I’ll definitely look up Seven Fables.

Interesting -what do you find interesting in other countries mythology, which, of course, marvel movies are based off.

Ooh what’s at Alderney Edge

Have you looked at Treadwells- they run many courses. Boleskin House do some great talks on line. Is there anything in particular you’re interested in?

Couldn't agree more. Excellent post 👏

One of my favourite books as a child was the Readers Digest 'Folklore, Myths, and Legends of Britain'. It went through hundreds of towns and villages recording all the folklore and myths surrounding each place, everything from Lady Godiva to the Dunmow Flitch.

Same! We had that and it was great. We also had Mysteries of the Unexplained. I spent about a year thinking I was going to be a victim of human combustion.

Just as an aside - that book can be worth quite a bit if you still have a copy/ coincidentally came up on one of the Facebook groups the other day

This is a great read, Storyland by Amy Jeffs.

British culture and heritage is being erased in the name of multiculturalism. It seems everything about this country offends some group or another. I'm Welsh and our culture, history, myths, legends and language are very much kept alive but for how long who knows?

I'm not sure if anyone else has mentioned it yet but there is a fantastic podcast called The Three Ravens Podcast. It's all about English folklore and history. It focuses on a different county each week. Well worth checking out.

I totally agree. It's somehow acceptable to ridicule British culture - why?

it reminds me of when I was on a training course when the new Nat Curriculum was being introduced. In the PE element, we were discussing dance and the lecturer showed a video of a range of folk dances from around the world - all good. He then said "Of course, there are other options too, including Irish dance and say, English Morris dancing," to which a painfully right-on (but not very bright) woman scoffed audibly and said "What! Morris dancing??"

The irony is that, if you'd shown those dances to people from say the Indian subcontinent, or Spain, they'd probably have laughed because they were corny versions of authentic folk dances, or possibly the sort of folk dancing which gets the same mockery as Morris dancing does here. But she was definitely the type who saw no value in her native culture!

I think we must be neighbours, @Feelingathomenow because I would come up with the same list, I grew up riding out past Jay's Grave and Grimspound, along the stretch of road near Huccaby where the hairy hand was most feared etc. I think the Moor is especially rich in folklore because it's so empty and not all safe for travellers who don't know the lie of the land.Most of the older houses here have witches' marks (to ward off evil). I love the ancient carvings in our local church of the Green Man and Tinners' Hares. I love Widecombe church with its tale of the Devil striking down card players with lightening. If I go over Cold East Cross I think of the hanged man in Halsanger Woods. Chills! Life on Dartmoor was properly hard and I think people drew on mystical beliefs to try to get other forces onto their side (or at least not working against them).

I really love Hallowe'en- the sense that it's one night when the veil between this world and the next is drawn aside ahead of All Saints' and All Souls Days gives me chills.

Meant to add, @Feelingathomenow if you love the old tales you might really enjoy Seth Lakeman's music (maybe you already know it). His album Kitty Jay is based around characters in Dartmoor folklore.

Sadly, I think you're right. I even met someone who thought the word 'traditional' (in terms of tales, customs, legends etc) was a sort of right-wing dog-whistle. We really need to stop thinking like this.

I salute the Celtic nations for their dedication to keeping their culture alive. I just wish the English would take the same pride and make the same effort.

All cultures are fascinating in their way and connect us with our ancestors. Cultural traditions remind us of our place in the long history of mankind and show us that despite the thin veneer of modernity, humans haven't actually changed much over the centuries. We should be proud of our own, as well as respecting others' cultures.