On this day in Durham, England, we have the first known record of ‘Plough Monday’, the first Monday after the Feast of Epiphany (6th January) when agricultural work could start again after the Christmas period. It was the official start of the agricultural year and was often celebrated by townsfolk dragging a plough from house to house in a procession, collecting money. The participants were often accompanied by musicians, an old woman (or a boy dressed as an old woman) called the ‘Bessy’, and a man in the role of the ‘fool’. After the procession, the townsfolk would eat ‘Plough Pudding‘, a boiled suet pudding, containing meat and onions.
