Scarecrows and Scarecrow Festivals in the Cotswolds

Woolsack Races	Ancient Clypping Ceremony	Cheese Rolling
Englands most famous ghost	St Briavels Bread & Cheese Dole	Wassailing
Olympick Games & Scuttlebrook Wake	Well Dressing	River Football
Human Heart and Horse Burial	Crop Fertility Rituals	Growing Tobacco
The Campden Wonder	The Last Court Jester	Banbury Cross
Malmesbury Abbey and the Flying Monk	The Fovant Regimental Badges	Scarecrows
St.James the Great Church	Buried in Wool	Pig Face Day
Cotswolds Ley Lines \| Dragon Lines	The Mug House Inn	Randwick Cheese
Woman killed by Tiger in Malmesbury	Randwick Wap	Knights Templars
Marshfield Paper Boys	The game of Aunt Sally	Mummers Plays
The Flying Monk at Malmesbury Abbey	A Burning Passion & a Poet	Gunpowder Plot
Three Dreadful Dooms	A Tragic Lightning Romance	Wife Selling
A small Cotswolds Town with two Sundials	Cotswold Morris Dancing	Hobbits House for Sheep
Welcoming of the Rising Sun

SCARECROWS AND FESTIVALS

Scarecrows are not of recent origin and do in fact originate from more than 3000 years ago. The scarecrow was a means that were used by Ancient Greeks for protecting their crops from birds.

They were also regarded as God to worship - Priapus, the god of farmers and a guardian of crops.

The Egyptians of old also made scarecrows, although they were not always constructed of the same materials as the present time.

It was after many centuries that the English made their figures of straw with turnip heads.

Throughout Europe and the Americas scarecrows were made and developed in each country as an art form, the ideas became more ingenious and today the amazing conceptions have provided and combined competition with enjoyment and fund raising.

In different areas and different countries they can be known by different names:-

Scotland - Tattibogle (to frighten birds away from potato fields.)
Somerset - Mommet
Berkshire - Hodmedod
In other parts - Jack of Straw, Scarebirds.
Germany - Bootzamon(male), Bootzafrau(female)
Japan - Kyebiko/Kakashi

Scarecrow Festivals are held throughout the world and attract huge crowds and are certainly a tourist attraction and bring trade wherever they are held.

Usually a theme is chosen. They can be combined with other events, such as Antique Fairs , Arts and Craft sales to add greater interest.

Amongst the many local successful scarecrow events held in the Cotswolds were the ones at - North Nibley Gloucestershire, Thornbury Gloucestershire, Urchfont Wiltshire, Powick & Callow Worcestershire, Belbroughton Worcestershire, Feckenham Worcestershire and Bromyard in Hereford.

Watch video of scarecrows at A fun day at Belbroughton in Worcestershire:-

Scarecrows

Strange Things in the Cotswolds Scarecrows

Strange Things in the Cotswolds
Scarecrows