Curious Customs: Exploring Ancient British and Irish Traditions

What did our British and Irish ancestors believe? What superstitions did they hold? How did they celebrate events like Christmas, Halloween and Valentine’s Day?

Join the British Newspaper Archive’s content expert Rose Staveley-Wadham as she explores the history and origins of British and Irish customs and traditions. Using historical newspapers, she will unravel the belief systems of our British and Irish ancestors by looking at the traditions they enacted across the calendar year, whilst also examining more generally held superstitions.

From celebrations on Midsummer’s Eve, to love spells conjured on Valentine’s Day, this session will examine how British and Irish customs blended ancient pagan beliefs with more modern Christian ones. It will enable attendees to understand how their British and Irish ancestors lived their lives by a calendar of traditions, and to walk in their shoes, one festival at a time.

Sponsored by Findmypast