View source for Wren Day

{{Short description|Irish and Manx tradition on 26 December}}
{{about|the celebration on 26 December in Ireland and other countries|the English folk song|Cutty Wren}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
[[File:Wren_used_for_Hunt_the_Wren.jpg|thumb|A [[taxidermy]] wren used for Hunt the Wren Day in [[Douglas, Isle of Man]]]]
'''Wren Day''' ({{langx|ga|Lá an Dreoilín}}), or '''Hunt the Wren Day''' ({{langx|gv|Shelg yn Dreean}}), is an [[Ireland|Irish]] and [[Isle of Man|Manx]] custom on 26 December, [[St. Stephen's Day]]. Traditionally, men and boys hunted a [[wren]] and placed it on top of a staff decorated with holly, ivy and ribbons, or displayed it in a decorated box on top of a pole. This was paraded around the neighbourhood by a group of 'Wrenboys'—typically dressed in straw masks, greenery and colourful [[motley]] clothing—who sang songs and played music in exchange for donations. On the Isle of Man, the people afterwards held a funeral for the wren and danced around the wren pole. Wren Day has been undergoing revival since the late 20th century, although the wren is no longer hunted and a [[Taxidermy|stuffed]] wren is used instead. There were similar New Year traditions in parts of Britain and France until the nineteenth century. It is speculated that the tradition derives from [[Ancient Celtic religion|Celtic paganism]].
==Irish tradition==
[[File:St. Stephens Day (26 December) in Dingle, Co Kerry.jpg|thumb|Wrenboys on St. Stephen's Day in [[Dingle]], Ireland.]]
Historically, and up until the mid-20th century in rural Ireland, groups of men and boys hunted a wren (also pronounced ''wran'')<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ballinagree.freeservers.com/chrisireland.html|title=Christmas and New Year in Ireland Long Ago|website=Ballinagree.freeservers.com|access-date=15 January 2018}}</ref> on St. Stephen's Day. They beat the bushes and hedges with sticks, and when a wren flew out they tried to down the bird by throwing sticks, stones and other objects at it.<ref name="Lawrence">{{cite book |last1=Lawrence |first1=Elizabeth Atwood |title=Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol |date=1997 |publisher=University of Tennessee Press |pages=46–48, 60–63}}</ref> Whomever killed the wren was believed to have good luck for a year.<ref name="Lawrence"/>
The dead wren was usually tied to the top of a long staff, which was decorated with holly, ivy and colourful ribbons.<ref name="Lawrence: Ireland">{{cite book |last1=Lawrence |first1=Elizabeth Atwood |title=Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol |date=1997 |publisher=University of Tennessee Press |pages=55–56}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Eveleth |first=Rose |author-link=Rose Eveleth |title=The Irish Used to Celebrate the Day After Christmas by Killing Wrens |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-irish-used-to-celebrate-the-day-after-christmas-by-killing-wrens-172713515/ |access-date=2021-03-14 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}}</ref> A group of 'Wrenboys' or 'Droluns' ({{langx|ga|lucht an dreoilín}}), wearing straw masks and costumes, then carried it in procession around the neighbourhood. They sang songs about the wren—to the sound of [[Bodhrán|drums]], [[Irish flute|fifes]] and [[Diatonic button accordion|melodeons]]—going from house to house collecting money, food and drink.<ref name="Lawrence: Ireland"/>
Today, the wren hunt no longer takes place, but Wren Day has survived or been revived in a few towns and villages, such as [[Dingle]] in County Kerry. Groups of Wrenboys hold small parades and carry around a [[Taxidermy|stuffed]] or fake wren.<ref name="Lawrence"/><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2023/12/27/those-that-went-before-us-kept-it-going-from-generation-to-generation/ | title=Wren Day: 'Those that went before us kept it going from generation to generation' | newspaper=[[The Irish Times]] }}</ref> They usually collect money for charity or to host a dance or "Wren Ball" for the town.<ref name=":0"/>
The Wrenboys have some similarities with the ''skeklers'' of [[Shetland]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Smith|first=Laura|title=The Honest Truth: A spooky step back in time to skekling, Shetland's ancient form of Halloween guising|url=https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/the-honest-truth-spooky-step-back-in-time-reveals-shetlands-halloween-skeklers/|access-date=2021-03-14|website=The Sunday Post|date=30 October 2020 |language=en-US}}</ref>
=== Song ===
Whilst going from house to house, the Wrenboys would sing a song, of which there are many variations, asking for donations. One variation sung in [[Edmondstown]], [[County Dublin]] ran as such (the last two lines of which are used in several festive British begging songs and rhymes including "[[Christmas Is Coming|Christmas is Coming]]"):
{{poem quote
|text=The wren the wren the king of all birds
St Stephen's Day was caught in the [[furze]]
Her clothes were all torn- her shoes were all worn
Up with the kettle and down with the pan
Give us a penny to bury the "wran"
If you haven't a penny, a halfpenny will do
If you haven't a halfpenny, God bless you!<ref>The Schools' Collection, Volume 0797, Page 44</ref>}} In a 1978 recording, the [[Sean-nós singing|sean-nós]] singer [[Joe Heaney|Seosamh Ó hÉanaí]] discusses Wren Day activities and the lore behind the tradition. He sings a [[Macaronic song|macaronic]], [[English language|English]]-[[Irish language|Irish]] text: "Dreoilín, dreoilín, Rí na nÉan (Wren, wren, King of Birds)".<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|date=2 March 1978|title=Lore About the Wren|url=https://www.joeheaney.org/en/lore-about-the-wren/|access-date=7 October 2021|website=Cartlanna Sheosaimh Uí Éanaí|language=}}</ref>
==Manx tradition==
{{main|Hunt the Wren}}
[[File:Hunt the Wren on the beach at Port St. Mary.jpg|thumb|Hunt the Wren on the sand at [[Port St Mary]], 2016]]
Traditionally, a wren was hunted on the [[Isle of Man]] every St. Stephen's Day, as in Ireland.<ref name="Lawrence: Manx">{{cite book |last1=Lawrence |first1=Elizabeth Atwood |title=Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol |date=1997 |publisher=University of Tennessee Press |pages=48–53}}</ref> Usually, the wren's body would be hung inside a ball-shaped frame made from two wreaths of holly or ivy, called the 'Wren Bush', which may be decorated with ribbons.<ref name="Lawrence: Manx"/> In some villages, the wren's body was displayed in a small wooden box with windows, decorated with greenery and ribbons, called the 'Wren House'.<ref name="Lawrence: Manx"/> These Wren Bushes or Wren Houses were held aloft on poles and taken around the neighbourhood by 'wrenboys', some of whom were decked in greenery or flew coloured banners.<ref name="Lawrence: Manx"/> Singing "Hunt the Wren" ({{lang|gv|Shelg yn Dreean}}) and beating drums, they went from house to house asking for coins. When a coin was given, the donor might receive a feather from the wren. These feathers were kept or worn as an [[amulet]] to guard against supernatural harm and [[witchcraft]].<ref name="Lawrence: Manx"/>
At the end of the day, a funeral was held for the wren and it was buried at the parish church by torchlight.<ref name="Lawrence: Manx"/> [[George Waldron]] recorded in 1731 that they buried the wren "with a whimsical kind of solemnity, singing [[dirge]]s over her in the [[Manx language]]".<ref name="Lawrence: Manx"/> According to folklorist [[Mona Douglas]], afterwards a living wren was placed in a cage inside the Wren Bush and the people danced around it. This wren was then set free, before the bush was burned on the dead wren's grave.<ref name="Lawrence: Manx"/> Manx folklore held that the wren's spirit would be reborn each year.<ref name="Lawrence: Manx"/> According to Douglas, in the eighteenth century the Manx church were hostile to the ceremony, but knew they could not prevent it. She wrote that when the group arrived at the church with the sacrificed wren, the vicar "took good care to absent himself from the proceedings, for they were frowned upon by the church at that time as being Pagan and superstitious".<ref name="Lawrence: Manx"/>
The tradition was revived on the Isle of Man during the 1990s. Today, it mainly involves music, singing and dancing around a decorated Wren Bush or Wren Pole in which a stuffed or fake wren is placed.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/isleofman/content/articles/2005/12/07/hunting_the_wren_feature.shtml Hunting the Wren]. BBC Isle of Man.</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Hunt the Wren: Ancient Manx tradition grows in popularity |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-isle-of-man-59742137 |work=BBC News |date=26 December 2021}}</ref>
==Origin==
[[File:Hunt the Wren, Ramsey, 1904.jpg|thumb|Wrenboys in [[Ramsey, Isle of Man]], 1904]]
The wren celebration may have originated from [[Celtic mythology]].<ref>The European symbolic hunting of the Eurasian wren is investigated by Elizabeth Atwood Lawrence, ''Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol'' (University of Tennessee) 1997.</ref> Ultimately, the origin may be a [[Samhain]] or [[midwinter]] sacrifice or celebration, as Celtic mythology considered the wren a symbol of the past year<!-- see "Handbook of Birds of the World" --> (the European wren is known for its habit of singing even in mid-winter, and its name in the Netherlands, "winter king," reflects this); Celtic names of the wren (''draouennig, drean, dreathan, dryw'' etc.) also suggest an association with [[druid]]ic rituals.{{according to whom|date=December 2019}}
[[Lleu Llaw Gyffes]], a Welsh hero, wins his name by hitting or killing a wren. He strikes a wren "between the tendon and the bone of its leg", causing [[Arianrhod]], his mother, to say "it is with a skillful hand that the fair-haired one has hit it". At that [[Gwydion]], his foster father, reveals himself, saying Lleu Llaw Gyffes; "the fair-haired one with the skillful hand" is his name now".{{Check quotation|date=March 2024|reason=There is an extra quotation mark so it's unclear where the quote actually ends}}
In the [[Isle of Man]], the hunting of the wren ({{langx|gv|shelg yn drean}}) is associated with an ancient enchantress or 'queen of the fairies' (or goddess) named 'Tehi Tegi' which translates to something like 'beautiful gatherer' in [[Common Brittonic|Brythonic]] (the Manx spoke Brythonic before they switched to Gaelic). The story goes that Tehi Tegi was so beautiful that all the men of the Island followed her around in hope of marrying her, and neglected their homes and fields. Tehi Tegi led her suitors to the river and then drowned them. She was confronted, but transformed into a wren and escaped. She was banished from the Island but returns once a year, when she is hunted.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://atlanticreligion.com/2013/10/25/tehi-tegi/|title=Tehi Tegi|date=25 October 2013|website=Atlanticreligion.com|access-date=15 January 2018}}</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/isleofman/content/articles/2005/12/07/hunting_the_wren_feature.shtml Hunting the Wren], bbc.co.uk, 23 Dec 2005</ref>
==Parallel traditions==
The typical wren hunt occurred in Ireland, the Isle of Man, Wales, England and France, "areas where [[Celts|Celtic]] tradition was firmly entrenched".<ref name="Lawrence 60">{{cite book |last1=Lawrence |first1=Elizabeth Atwood |title=Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol |date=1997 |publisher=University of Tennessee Press |pages=60}}</ref> Although there was some regional variation, the basic pattern of the ritual was the same wherever it occurred.<ref name="Lawrence 60"/> In  Britain and Ireland, the wren hunt was usually held on [[St. Stephen's Day]], but wren hunts also took place on [[Christmas Eve]], [[New Year's Eve]], [[New Year's Day]], and [[Twelfth Day]] (5 January).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lawrence |first1=Elizabeth Atwood |title=Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol |date=1997 |publisher=University of Tennessee Press |pages=47}}</ref> By the early 20th century, industrialization and changing beliefs had begun to erode the tradition.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lawrence |first1=Elizabeth Atwood |title=Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol |date=1997 |publisher=University of Tennessee Press |pages=63}}</ref>
=== Wales ===
In Wales, the tradition of 'hunting the wren' ({{langx|cy|Hela'r Dryw}}) took place every Twelfth Day, and the practice continued in [[Pembrokeshire]] until the beginning of the twentieth century.<ref name="Lawrence 66">{{cite book |last1=Lawrence |first1=Elizabeth Atwood |title=Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol |date=1997 |publisher=University of Tennessee Press |pages=66}}</ref> Similarly to some Manx traditions, in Wales the dead wren was typically placed in a "Wren House" – a small wooden box with windows, decorated with greenery and ribbons – which was then carried around the neighbourhood by "wren bearers".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lawrence |first1=Elizabeth Atwood |title=Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol |date=1997 |publisher=University of Tennessee Press |pages=53}}</ref> In some cases, "wrenboys" caught a live wren and placed it in the Wren House, and then the wrenboys called on people to make offerings to the little "king" until the end of the day, when the bird was set free.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lawrence |first1=Elizabeth Atwood |title=Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol |date=1997 |publisher=University of Tennessee Press |pages=59}}</ref>
=== England ===
The tradition was found in parts of England, but it gradually died out or was put down by the authorities by the mid-nineteenth century.<ref name="Lawrence 66"/> In the late 20th century, Pete Jennings and the ''Old Glory Molly Dancers'' revived the wren hunt in [[Suffolk]], and it has been performed in [[Middleton, Suffolk|Middleton]] on the evening of every [[Boxing Day]] since 1994.<ref>''Old Glory & The Cutty Wren'' by Pete Jennings.</ref>
===France===
A similar tradition is performed on the first Sunday of December in parts of Southern [[France]], including [[Carcassonne]].<ref>''The Golden Bough'' by James George Frazer, NuVision Publications, LLC, 2006, {{ISBN|1-59547-959-7}}, {{ISBN|978-1-59547-959-4}}. pp.294-295</ref> [[James George Frazer]] describes in his ''[[The Golden Bough]]'' a wren-hunting ritual in [[Carcassonne]]. The ''Fête du Roi de l'Oiseau'', first recorded in 1524 at [[Puy-en-Velay]], is still active.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.lonelyplanet.com/france/le-puy-en-velay/events/fete-du-roi-de-loiseau/a/poi-fes/1234936/1317035 |title=Fête du Roi de l'Oiseau |website=Lonely Planet |access-date=13 April 2020}}</ref>
===Galicia===
In [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]], [[Spain]], the ''Caceria do rei Charlo'' (Chase of King Charles) was performed. The inhabitants of Vilanova de [[Lourenzá]] would chase down a wren and, after tying it to a pole, would parade it and show it to the [[abbot]] of the local monastery, who would then offer them food and drink and appoint two leaders of the local town council out of the four candidates proposed by townsmen. This tradition has been recorded since the 16th century.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://anuariobrigantino.betanzos.net/Ab2001PDF/2001%20083_102.pdf|title=La cacería del reyezuelo: análisis de una cacería ancestral en los países célticos|author=FERNANDO ALONSO ROMERO|website=Anuariobrigantino.betanzos.net|access-date=15 January 2018}}</ref> It is unclear which specific date this tradition was performed on; sources call it "New Year's Day", which may not refer to the New Year on the [[Gregorian calendar]] but instead to the day after Christmas, which at that time was considered the end of the year.<ref>"La cacería del reyezuelo: análisis de una cacería ancestral en los países célticos" by Fernando Alonso Romero at Anuario Brigantino, issue 24, 2001</ref>
== Popular songs ==
In 1955 [[Liam Clancy]] recorded "The Wran Song" ("The Wren Song"), which was sung in Ireland by wrenboys.<ref>Example:[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnzlnuc-Mfk  "The Wren The Wren"], Celtic Tradition, Amiga, 1987.</ref> In 1972 [[Steeleye Span]] recorded "The King" on ''[[Please to See the King]]'', which also reflects the tradition; on their album ''[[Time (Steeleye Span album)|Time]]'' they made another version, "The Cutty Wren", named after [[Cutty Wren|the traditional English folk song]]. "Hunting the Wren" appears on [[John Kirkpatrick (musician)|John Kirkpatrick]]'s album ''Wassail!''. [[The Chieftains]] made a collection of wrenboy tunes on ''[[The Bells of Dublin]]''. In the song "[[The Boys of Barr na Sráide]]", which is based on a poem by [[Sigerson Clifford]], the wren hunt is also a prominent theme. [[Lankum]]'s 2019 album ''The Livelong Day'' includes a track called "Hunting the Wren" that references several of the legends and practices connected with Wren Day.
"The Wren [Wran] Song" is also on the [[The Clancy Brothers|Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem]]'s 1995 album ''[[Ain't It Grand Boys|Ain't It Grand Boys: A Collection of Unissued Gems]]'', as the last song in "Children's Medley".<ref>[https://www.amazon.com/Aint-Grand-Boys-Clancy-Brothers/dp/B0000029FL "Ain't it Grand Boys: A Collection of Unissued Gems"], the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, Columbia Records, 1995. [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00138C9CA/ref=dm_mu_dp_trk17 Children's Medley], ibid.</ref>
== See also ==
*[[Junkanoo]]
*[[Mummer's Day]]
*[[The Armagh Rhymers]]
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
* [http://collections.mun.ca/u?/ich_social,28 Archived audio recording of The Wren Song, sung by Will Murphy, Colliers, Newfoundland]
* [http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=17900 Discussions about the Wren song]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8ntUNbPW10 Hunt the Wren in the Isle of Man]
* [http://www.lynxeds.com/family-text/hbw-10-family-text-troglodytidae-wrens Handbook of Birds of the World: Wrens family account]<!-- this can be used as a proper source; discusses regional variants to the ritual, e.g. the solemn burial of the Wren performed on Man -->
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070327100314/http://www.dingle-peninsula.ie/wren.html Hunting the Wren on the Dingle peninsula] - An excellent account of the origins, history, contemporary aspects and international connections of the wren.
* [http://www.fustar.info/2005/12/26/caught-in-the-furze/ The Weird Side of St. Stephen's day in Ireland & Elsewhere] (Fustar.info)
* [http://www.dun-laoghaire.com/dir/wranboys.html Wren Boy Festival]
* [http://irelandsown.net/wrenday.html Wren Day]
* [http://piereligion.org/wrenkingsongs.html Wren Day Songs]
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/isleofman/content/articles/2005/12/07/hunting_the_wren_feature.shtml Hunting the Wren], bbc.co.uk, 23 Dec 2005
{{Winter solstice}}
{{Ireland topics}}
[[Category:Animal sacrifice]]
[[Category:December observances]]
[[Category:Celtic folklore]]
[[Category:Gaelic culture]]
[[Category:Irish folklore]]
[[Category:Manx folklore]]
[[Category:Welsh folklore]]
[[Category:International observances]]
[[Category:Winter events in the Republic of Ireland]]
[[Category:Winter traditions]]
[[Category:Birds in culture]]
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