360 



REPORTS. 



tice has now (1912) happily died out, but as I remember it 

 some forty years ago (say in the '70's) it took a form some- 

 what as follows : — Companies of young men and boys would 

 congregate together soon after daybreak on the morning in 

 question, and stroll through the country parishes, calling at 

 certain well-known houses where, on these occasions, a supply 

 of milk-punch could be obtained, and then, excited by these 

 unwonted rum-and-milk potations, the gangs continued their 

 stroll, and swooped down on any flower-garden they met with, 

 plucking off the blooms or uprooting the plants and afterwards 

 throwing them away. There was no desire on the part of any 

 of the raiders — so far as I could ever learn— to keep the flowers, 

 or to carry them home. Their object apparently was achieved 

 when the plants Avere destroyed and torn in pieces. The 

 Island newspapers used to point out what very poor fun this 

 was, and the Editors further warned owners of gardens to be 

 on their guard against such depredations. Yet year after year, 

 the unreasonable raid went on, until a few years ago when 

 thanks, doubtless to the spread of education and the intro- 

 duction of newer and more worthy objects of interest, the 

 ancient practice gradually fell into disuse. 



Another social change that is worth noting is the substi- 

 tution of the current Christmas festivities for the rejoicings 

 that formerly took place at the New Year. In this, Guernsey 

 used to follow the practice of France rather than that of 

 England. Of course, there was a certain religious observance 

 of Christmas. The Episcopal Churches had their prescribed 

 services, and our Roman Catholic friends prepared their 

 " cribs " ; then again, there was the traditional Long Night 

 (Dec. 23) — a non-ecclesiastical observance — when the knitted 

 woollen goods (stockings and close-fitting jackets) were 

 packed for sale and export, with the accompaniment of a cer- 

 tain amount of mild jollification ; while on Christmas Eve the 

 country people crowded into town to buy and eat oranges and 

 roasted chestnuts. Yet still, although some of these observ- 

 ances were ceremonially connected with Christmas, while 

 others of them were merely coincident with it; yet as regarded 

 the chief social functions and festivities, such as present- 

 giving, family-gatherings, &c, these all at that time clustered 

 round the New Year, rather than round the Christmas season, 

 as they do now. The children in the different parishes used 

 to go about on New Year's morning and call at the houses of 

 their friends and neighbours, to Avish them a Happy New 

 Year, and to ask for a New Year's gift. This custom seems 

 now (1912) to have practically died out. 



