Martinmas Old Style – Pack-Rag Day November 22nd

Three men for hire (wikipedia)

In the East Riding of Yorkshire hiring fairs were held around this time. It was also called Pack-Rag Day as servants carried their clothes to their new place of work.

A hiring fair is how Gabriel Oak is hired by Batheseba Everdene in ‘Far From the Madding Crowd’ by Thomas Harding. They were often also held at Michaelmas, and in Warwickshire called ‘the Mop’. See my post on the Mop here.

First Published on 22nd November 2022, Republished on 22nd November 2023

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