that day.”  Christmas decorations were removed from the houses; the holly, rosemary, bay, and mistletoe disappeared, to make room for sprigs of box, which remained until Easter brought in the yew.  Our ancestors were very fond of bonfires, and on the 3rd of this month, St. Blaize’s Day,[4] the red flames might be seen darting up from every hilltop.  But why they should do this on that day is not evident, except that the good Bishop’s name sounded something like blaze, and perhaps that was quite a sufficient reason!  And why the day of St. Valentine should have been selected for the drawing lots for sweethearts, and for the sending affectionate greetings, is another mystery.  St. Valentine was a priest and martyr in Italy in the third century, and had nothing to do with the popular commemoration of the day.

Now we come to the diversions of Shrove-tide,[5] which immediately precedes the Lenten Fast.  The Monday before Ash Wednesday was called Collop Monday in the north, because slices of bacon (or collops) were the recognized dish for dinner.  But on Tuesday the chief amusements began; the bells were rung, pancakes tossed with great solemnity, and devoured with great satisfaction, as an old writer, who did not approve of so much feasting, tells us—­

    “In every house are shouts and cries, and mirth and revel rout,
     And dainty tables spread, and all beset with guests about.”

He further describes this old English carnival, which must have rivalled any that we read of on the Continent—­

    “Some run about the streets attired like monks, and some like
        kings,
     Accompanied with pomp, and guard, and other stately things. 
     Some like wild beasts do run abroad in skins that divers be
     Arrayed, and eke with loathsome shapes, that dreadful are to
        see,
     They counterfeit both bears and wolves, and lions fierce in
        sight,
     And raging bulls; some play the cranes, with wings and stilts
        upright.”

But the great game for Shrove Tuesday was our time-honoured football, which has survived so many of the ancient pastimes of our land, and may be considered the oldest of all our English national sports.  The play might not be quite so scientific as that played by our modern athletes, but, from the descriptions that have come down to us, it was no less vigorous.  “After dinner” (says an old writer) “all the youths go into the fields to play at the ball.  The ancient and worthy men of the city come forth on horseback to see the sport of the young men, and to take part of the pleasure in beholding their agility.”  There are some exciting descriptions of old football matches; and we read of some very fierce contests at Derby, which was renowned for the game.  In the seventeenth century it was played in the streets of London, much to the annoyance of the inhabitants, who had to protect their windows with hurdles and bushes.