{"id":3457,"date":"2017-12-19T15:47:17","date_gmt":"2017-12-19T15:47:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thepencompany.live\/blog\/?p=3457"},"modified":"2021-08-11T17:54:15","modified_gmt":"2021-08-11T16:54:15","slug":"festive-words-from-the-past","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thepencompany.live\/blog\/seasonal\/christmas\/festive-words-from-the-past\/","title":{"rendered":"Fabulous festive words from the past"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"vintage

Image credit: BigStock.com\/alexraths<\/p><\/div>\n

We all know words such as \u201csnowball\u201d, \u201cmistletoe\u201d and \u201ccarols\u201d, but what about \u201crumball\u201d, \u201cbubbly-jock\u201d and \u201ckissing bough\u201d? There are some wonderful wintry words from the past which have fallen out of common use. Learn about them here, and why not try bringing them back with your friends and family this Christmastime!<\/p>\n

Kissing Bough<\/h2>\n

A kissing bough was hung from the ceiling in Tudor homes, often above the front door, and was a round ball of twigs and greenery, decorated with seasonal fruit. Often containing mistletoe, the kissing bough was the precursor to the bunch of mistletoe we now hang in our homes, under which it is custom to kiss.<\/p>\n

Yulestarn<\/h2>\n

A yulestarn was the word for a noticeably bright star in the sky on Christmas night.<\/p>\n

Waits<\/h2>\n

In the Middle Ages and onwards, waits were a group of musicians and singers that each town and city across the UK had. These groups would wake the townspeople in winter with singing, and would welcome Royal visitors to the area.<\/p>\n

Waits were abolished in 1835, but later the term came to mean people who went door-to-door singing for money \u2013 in other words, what we now know as carol singers.<\/p>\n

\"carol

Carol singers or waits. Image credit: RussellG\/BigStock.com<\/p><\/div>\n

Yuleshard<\/h2>\n

Yuleshard was a term that referred to someone who received no new clothing for Christmas, at a time when new clothing would have signified wealth.<\/p>\n

Rumball<\/h2>\n

The term \u2018rumball\u2019 has had several meanings. An old 18th<\/sup> century term for Christmas Eve, rumball was also the name of the feast served up on that day, and the name of a delicious confectionary treat made from sweet mince.<\/p>\n

Bubbly-jock<\/h2>\n

A bubbly-jock is an old Scottish term for a male turkey.<\/p>\n

Bummock<\/h2>\n

A bummock was a Scottish term for a large quantity of alcohol being purposely brewed for a special occasion \u2013 often Christmas. In the 18th<\/sup> century, bummock or bummack also referred to a party held for tenants by their landlords during the festive period.<\/p>\n

Do you know of any more old local or national words relating to Christmas that aren\u2019t in use anymore? Let us know in the comments below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We all know words such as \u201csnowball\u201d, \u201cmistletoe\u201d and \u201ccarols\u201d, but what about \u201crumball\u201d, \u201cbubbly-jock\u201d and \u201ckissing bough\u201d? There are some wonderful wintry words from the past which have fallen out of common use. Learn about them here, and why not try bringing them back with your friends and family this Christmastime! Kissing Bough A…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":3458,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[94],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nFabulous festive words from the past - The Pen Company Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Enjoy some wonderfully wintry and festive words and phrases from yesteryear in this Christmas blog post from The Pen Company.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thepencompany.live\/blog\/seasonal\/christmas\/festive-words-from-the-past\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fabulous festive words from the past - The Pen Company Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Enjoy some wonderfully wintry and festive words and phrases from yesteryear in this Christmas blog post from The Pen Company.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.thepencompany.live\/blog\/seasonal\/christmas\/festive-words-from-the-past\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Pen Company Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ThePenCompany\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-12-19T15:47:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-08-11T16:54:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.thepencompany.live\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/bigstock-Christmas-background-Advent-c-211839418.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"583\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lucy Williams\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@thepencompany\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@thepencompany\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lucy Williams\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thepencompany.live\/blog\/seasonal\/christmas\/festive-words-from-the-past\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.thepencompany.live\/blog\/seasonal\/christmas\/festive-words-from-the-past\/\",\"name\":\"Fabulous festive words from the past - The Pen Company Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thepencompany.live\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-12-19T15:47:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-08-11T16:54:15+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thepencompany.live\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/b621584a04332c39a493182f2dca6376\"},\"description\":\"Enjoy some wonderfully wintry and festive words and phrases from yesteryear in this Christmas blog post from The Pen Company.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thepencompany.live\/blog\/seasonal\/christmas\/festive-words-from-the-past\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.thepencompany.live\/blog\/seasonal\/christmas\/festive-words-from-the-past\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thepencompany.live\/blog\/seasonal\/christmas\/festive-words-from-the-past\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Fabulous festive words from the past\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thepencompany.live\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.thepencompany.live\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"The Pen Company Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.thepencompany.live\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thepencompany.live\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/b621584a04332c39a493182f2dca6376\",\"name\":\"Lucy Williams\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thepencompany.live\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f251747ed7a120404b73c37c381c4c96?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f251747ed7a120404b73c37c381c4c96?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Lucy Williams\"},\"description\":\"Lucy is our lead editor and has been passionate about stationery since childhood. 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