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SUMMARY:PLOUGH SUNDAY AT EBRINGTON
DTSTART:20250105T093000Z
DTEND:20250105T103000Z
DTSTAMP:20260405T231701Z
UID:10217342025-01-05 09:30:00+00:00achurchnearyou
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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 Ebrington congreg
 ation and friends from Blockley for a special service for Plough Sunday wh
 ich is traditionally held in Ebrington. It will be a family friendly “se
 rvice of the word” with prayer and readings as we ask God to bless the l
 and and those who work with it.\n\nFor people wishing to receive Holy Comm
 union there will also be a traditional said Communion service  at St.Lawre
 nce at 6pm.\n\nSome background information on Plough Sunday published by t
 he Diocese of Winchester.\n\nPlough Sunday is thought to be a very ancient
  festival\, abandoned at the Reformation and then revived by the Victorian
 s. Traditionally it was celebrated on the first Sunday after Epiphany\, wh
 ich falls on 6 January\, and then ploughing began the next day\, Plough Mo
 nday. Since Victorian times many farms have owned their own plough\, so a 
 representative plough was brought into church for a blessing\, but in the 
 medieval period\, when there was only one plough in each village\, the vil
 lage plough was drawn through the streets to be blessed at the church\, an
 d was followed with much food\, drinking and revelry. For medieval farmers
  it was an important occasion. The village plough was cleaned and decorate
 d\, it was then dragged to the church to be blessed and for prayers for a 
 good harvest before the start of the new season’s work. During the servi
 ce the ‘plough light’ - a candle kept lit in the church throughout the
  year - was paraded ceremonially. After the blessing\, the plough was pull
 ed through the village again\, led by a Fool and 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 drinks. Pennies were also colle
 cted along route as a contribution towards keeping the plough light going 
 in the church throughout the year - though others say it could have been t
 o boost the kitty for “ale” that evening at the tavern. It would appea
 r that anyone not paying a penny was likely to find a furrow cut across th
 eir land by morning! The day ended with a village feast\, ale or beer flow
 ed\, and the traditional centrepiece was always a large Plough Pudding - a
  suet pudding stuffed with sausagemeat\, bacon\, onion\, and sage. The rec
 ipe is readily available on the internet for anyone who wishes to give it 
 a go. Modern farming practices have changed\, of course\, and the widespre
 ad sowing of winter wheat means that much farming is now carried out in th
 e autumn\, but how marvellous to have two opportunities to celebrate the w
 ork of our farmers – both at Harvest Festival and on Plough Sunday
LOCATION:St Eadburgha's Church
URL:https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/14287/service-and-events/events/
 1021734/
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