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My Good Babushka

(2,710 posts) Thu Jun 5, 2014, 06:04 AM Jun 2014

Animal Torture Courtship Ritual for Shrove Tuesday

In a bizarre courtship ritual, a hen was tied to a fellow's back on Shrove Tuesday along with some horse bells. The maidens would blindfold the remaining fellows with their aprons. Once given sticks for threshing, the men are set loose to try and thresh the hen. The hen-bearer tried to get the blindfolded men to hit each other. If the maidens favor their fellows, they cut peepholes in the aprons that they bind on. If they do not favor the gentlemen, they bind the blindfold tight to hinder them. Once the hen is dispatched they boil it and serve it with bacon, pancakes and fritters.

9 replies

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Animal Torture Courtship Ritual for Shrove Tuesday (Original Post) My Good Babushka Jun 2014 OP

HUH?????? Must be posting while drunk or high whistler162 Jun 2014 #1

I am neither drunk nor high My Good Babushka Jun 2014 #2

Ooookkkkkayyy!!!!!!! whistler162 Jun 2014 #5

I do. nt. My Good Babushka Jun 2014 #8

That is bizarre. Xyzse Jun 2014 #3

Easy My Good Babushka Jun 2014 #7

Hmmm, that must be one stringy chicken. Xyzse Jun 2014 #9

sick. and those peepholes make the entire process even more pointless than it already is n/t orleans Jun 2014 #4

The end result sounds rather yummy KamaAina Jun 2014 #6

whistler162

(11,155 posts)

1. HUH?????? Must be posting while drunk or high

Reply to My Good Babushka (Original post)

Thu Jun 5, 2014, 06:54 AM

Jun 2014

My Good Babushka

(2,710 posts)

2. I am neither drunk nor high

Reply to whistler162 (Reply #1)

Thu Jun 5, 2014, 07:31 AM

Jun 2014

I never am.
I am just reporting on something I've read. A courtship game played in the 17th and 18th century in rural England.
Is there something illegible or unintelligible about the post? It reads quite plainly to me.

whistler162

(11,155 posts)

5. Ooookkkkkayyy!!!!!!!

Reply to My Good Babushka (Reply #2)

Thu Jun 5, 2014, 04:59 PM

Jun 2014

If you say so.

My Good Babushka

(2,710 posts)

8. I do. nt.

Reply to whistler162 (Reply #5)

Thu Jun 5, 2014, 05:49 PM

Jun 2014

Xyzse

(8,217 posts)

3. That is bizarre.

Reply to My Good Babushka (Original post)

Thu Jun 5, 2014, 12:50 PM

Jun 2014

Thresh the hen and hen bearer?
Wait, so..... How does one win?

Whomever kills the hen first, which is hanging on the guy with horse bells?
Making whatever shirt he has red?

That's uhhhh... hrm...

I don't know how I feel about this.

My Good Babushka

(2,710 posts)

7. Easy

Reply to Xyzse (Reply #3)

Thu Jun 5, 2014, 05:48 PM

Jun 2014

You win if your girlfriend likes you enough to let you see through the apron she tied on as a blindfold. It's just a big dinner date, with an overture of beating a hen to death.