BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//achurchnearyou.com//eventfeed//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
X-WR-TIMEZONE:UTC
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:PLOUGH SUNDAY AT EBRINGTON
DTSTART:20250105T093000Z
DTEND:20250105T103000Z
DTSTAMP:20260506T164602Z
UID:11361142025-01-05 09:30:00+00:00achurchnearyou
CATEGORIES:
DESCRIPTION:JOIN US FOR PLOUGH SUNDAY AT EBRINGTON - TIME 9:30 AM DATE 5th
  JAN\nOn 5th January  at 9:30 am we will be joining with friends from Ebri
 ngton and Bourton on the HIll for a special service for Plough Sunday whic
 h is traditionally held in Ebrington church. It will be a family friendly 
 “service of the word” with prayer and readings as we ask God to bless 
 the land and those who work with it.\n\nFor people wishing to receive Holy
  Communion there will also be a traditional said Communion service at St.L
 awrence\, Bourton on the Hill at 6pm.\n\nSome background information on Pl
 ough Sunday published by the Diocese of Winchester.\n\nPlough Sunday is th
 ought to be a very ancient festival\, abandoned at the Reformation and the
 n revived by the Victorians. Traditionally it was celebrated on the first 
 Sunday after Epiphany\, which falls on 6 January\, and then ploughing bega
 n the next day\, Plough Monday. Since Victorian times many farms have owne
 d their own plough\, so a representative plough was brought into church fo
 r a blessing\, but in the medieval period\, when there was only one plough
  in each village\, the village plough was drawn through the streets to be 
 blessed at the church\, and was followed with much food\, drinking and rev
 elry. For medieval farmers it was an important occasion. The village ploug
 h was cleaned and decorated\, it was then dragged to the church to be bles
 sed and for prayers for a good harvest before the start of the new season
 ’s work. During the service the ‘plough light’ - a candle kept lit i
 n the church throughout the year - was paraded ceremonially. After the ble
 ssing\, the plough was pulled through the village again\, led by a Fool an
 d a boy dressed as a woman called a ‘Betsy’. The procession stopped at
  as many pubs and friendly houses as possible for revellers to demand drin
 ks. Pennies were also collected along route as a contribution towards keep
 ing the plough light going in the church throughout the year - though othe
 rs say it could have been to boost the kitty for “ale” that evening at
  the tavern. It would appear that anyone not paying a penny was likely to 
 find a furrow cut across their land by morning! The day ended with a villa
 ge feast\, ale or beer flowed\, and the traditional centrepiece was always
  a large Plough Pudding - a suet pudding stuffed with sausagemeat\, bacon\
 , onion\, and sage. The recipe is readily available on the internet for an
 yone who wishes to give it a go. Modern farming practices have changed\, o
 f course\, and the widespread sowing of winter wheat means that much farmi
 ng is now carried out in the autumn\, but how marvellous to have two oppor
 tunities to celebrate the work of our farmers – both at Harvest Festival
  and on Plough Sunday
LOCATION:St Eadburgha's Church
URL:https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/14271/service-and-events/events/
 1136114/
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR