Henry's Holidays: An Earnest Easter Quiz

Answer: Pancake

In the Church, Pancake Day is called Shrove Tuesday; a bell is rung and people go to confession to be shrived, or forgiven of their sins. Then we get ready to eat! It is the last time we will have a feast day before Easter Sunday. My lady, the Countess of Warwick, says it is a way to use up ingredients that may otherwise go bad during the long Lent fast.

The object of the race is to carry a frying pan with a pancake that is cooking, flipping the pancake while running. It is great fun, and I love pancakes! Afterwards, the boys gather for a game of football; it is usually one huge free-for-all where we drag an inflated pig's bladder to a goal in town.

The only rule? We can't kill anyone in the process!

Answer: Lent

The season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Maundy Thursday. During this time we are supposed to pray a lot, make up for our sins, and give charity to the poor. We are also supposed to fast as much as possible; typically, we eat one meal at midday, and a very light evening meal. Sunday is a feast day every week, so it is very important to eat as much as possible on that day so as to be able to fast as expected during the week. I have to say, observing traditions during Lent really makes me thankful for what I have.

It also reminds me of the hardship Christ faced while fasting in the desert.

Answer: Fish

I guess it is a good thing that we can't eat much of a variety during Lent, because it is the time of the year when the storeroom can begin to get a bit bare - even though my lady, the Countess of Warwick, is a fine household manager. We eat a lot of fish, but there is also cabbage and onion. Yummy? Not so much! It is always difficult to get through Lent, but we do have the feast day on Easter to look forward to. My lord, the Earl of Warwick, seems to be especially generous to everyone on the manor that day, and the feast is both enjoyable to behold and eat! There will be plenty of the meat, dairy, and eggs that have been forbidden in the past forty days of Lent, all made with the utmost care.

It is rumored that this year Cook is making a stuffed peacock that will have its tail feathers fanned behind it. What I am really looking forward to is the assortment of sweet treats and nuts that will be available.

Answer: Willow Branches

We use willow branches for the Palm Sunday observance because we don't have palm trees in England! There is a wooden carving of Christ and the donkey in a wagon that is pulled through the streets. When we reach the Church, the branches are blessed and given out to the people in the crowd. Also on this day, we visit the cemetery in the churchyard, decorate the graves, and pay our respects to deceased relatives before going inside the Church for Mass.

It is a very solemn occasion, and I am also to sing "Gloria, laus et honor" with the boys' choir.

Answer: Maundy Money

The last three days of Holy Week, the Triduum, are very solemn indeed. There is a service on Maundy Thursday. In the church, only one candle is lit, and the altar is covered with twigs and branches to symbolize the scourging of Christ. We crawl to the altar barefoot, pray, and receive Holy Communion.

Afterwards the king will wash the feet of some of the people and distribute clothing and other goods among the poor. King John is said to be the first English monarch to distribute small silver coins, called Maundy Money, among the poor.

Answer: True

Eggs have been a symbol of spring for a long time; for Christians they are a resurrection symbol. Cook usually prepares the eggs with onion, so they are a very beautiful gold color, although it is said that in some countries, people color the eggs red to symbolize the blood of Christ. I heard a story once about Eleanor and Simon de Montfort buying 3700 eggs for their Easter celebration and King Edward I purchasing 450 eggs that were decorated with gold leaf. We take our eggs at Easter very seriously! After the egg hunt we also have egg rolling contests because, well, what else are we to do with round-like objects?

Answer: Easter Sepulchre

The Easter Sepulchre is a niche in the church that is decorated in accordance with the season. We usually use candles, incense, and crosses, as well as earth, flowers and branches to decorate the niche at Eastertide. It is customary for the priest or parishioners to stand guard there until Easter morning.

Answer: Passion Play

The Passion Play is a very important part of Church ritual; it is based on the stories of Christ in the Gospels that tell of his entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the subsequent ordeal he faced, and, of course, his resurrection. Sung in Latin, the Passion Play is quite lovely. All of us pages work especially hard on our musical skills in order to please my lady, and maybe one day some of us will be asked to take a part in the play.

Answer: Clothes

While it is a tradition for some of the officials on the manor to be given new clothes at Christmas, Easter, and Whitsun, it is also customary for everyone to in turn to give an article of clothing to someone below them. My lady, the Countess of Warwick, says that not only is this a show of generosity, but it also reinforces the bonds of the people who live on the manor.

The clothes everyone receives may not be newly made, but they will be new to them! I am sure to find something I have outgrown in my trunk that someone else could use!

Answer: Holding young men and women for ransom

Hock Monday and Hock Tuesday are days that young men and women enjoy. On Hock Monday, young men capture young women, and on Hock Tuesday the reverse happens. They are then tied up and held for ransom, which involves giving some sort of donation to the Church; it is a fun way to raise money for the Church's work.

There really aren't very many days of the year when it is okay for the farmers to NOT work, but during Hocktide they don't typically even work on their own land. On Good Friday it is a tradition that no one on the manor uses iron tools or nails, the Lord of Misrule is chosen during Christmas and Twelfth Night, and we dance around the maypole, well, in May!