Calendar celebrations

[christine liava'a]

With Guy Fawkes Day coming up, I just wondered whether the ordinary calendar celebrations such as Easter, (kings/ queens) Birthday, Guy Fawkes , and obviously Christmas , were actually commemorated on the battle fields. Presumably they were back home.

but Guy Fawkes would seem a bit tame compared to what was happening around them. Any one know of any celebrations

And of course none of the memorial commemorations existed at the time

[Cliff. Hobson]

The Soldiers of that period would certainly have recognised the feast days etc., and it reminds me of a story ( I checked it out perfectly true) my Father used to repeat every Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Day, much to the derision of his five children. He had a great fondness for Pancakes and his Mother, a true Victorian sent him some when he was in the trenches, his story was that he did not know whether to put them on the Parapet to stop the bullets or sole his boots with them.

[Ivor Lee]

Christine

I was reading a soldier's letters recently in which he wrote home about the Christmas Day celebrations. He went into some detail about the food served and it being served to them by the Officers. A tradition that I believe still exists today.

Incidentally the men of the Chinese Labour Corps celebrated the Chinese New Year although without the fireworks! They were however given a day free of work.

[Guest Pete Wood]

Ivor, you're correct about the officers still waiting on the junior NCOs and Privates on Christmas day.

It is also a tradition that the youngest member of the unit gets to stir the mix for the Christmas pudding.