WELCOME TO An Entertainment Site for Scottish Country Dancers - Enjoy the curated selection of theme-related dances for celebrations and holidays, or find a dance associated with a special calendar day, or EVEN your own birthday!
Easter
Celebrate the coming of spring with an Easter dance! There was a festival for "Eastre", a Saxon goddess of fertility, in pre-Christian times which was integrated into the Christian calendar. The date is moveable, because the calculation is based on phases of the moon.
In Scotland, to this day, "hot cross buns" are baked, containing spices and fruit and with a white pastry cross. In days gone by, on Good Friday, no ploughing was done and no seed was sown.
The custom of rolling painted, hard-boiled eggs down a hill took place on Easter Monday.
Selected Dances
(click for more holiday folklore and background information)
The Hot Cross Bun
Good Friday
Hot Cross Buns, a fruited yeast bread laced with spices, hold a cherished place in the pre-Easter festivities. Wrapped in myths and steeped in tradition, these Lenten treats are more than just a delight for the palate. The symbolic cross adorning each bun is believed to ward off evil spirits, avert kitchen fires, and guarantee the success of every bread baked within the year when hung in the kitchen. Moreover, carrying these buns on a sea voyage is thought to fend off shipwrecks. Sharing a Hot Cross Bun, as per the adage "Half for you and half for me, between us two, good luck shall be," is said to cement a strong friendship and bond for the ensuing year. This lively reel contains plenty of cross-wise figures for replicating the icing on any of these tasty treats! Vintage and modern recipes included! ✝️ 🧁 🧁 🧁
Spring Chicken
the first day of Spring
It's Spring! Channel your Young Rooster and Spring Chicken Days with this 40 bar jig which thoughtfully contains no setting nor poussettes but is still challenging enough for chickens of all ages! And speaking of chickens ... urban and suburban homesteading on the rise, and the popularity of keeping backyard chickens for fresh eggs is more popular now than ever! The colours of eggs laid by chickens are dependent on both the breed and the sunlight, chicken feed etc ... Breeds that naturally produce blue and brown tinged eggs can result in eggs of all shades! And there are also "Easter Egger "chickens, a variant of Araucanas and Ameraucanas breeds can naturally produce a variety of egg colors such as blue, green, brown, sage, olive, cream, and rose to fill your Easter Baskets! 🐣 🐣 🐣 🐓 🐓 🐓 💙 💚 🤎 💗 🥚 🥚 🥚
The Easter Egg
Easter
Happy Easter! From mid-century modern traditions of dye tablets and vinegar baths to the use of natural vegetables, fruits, and herbs, or even the intricate egg decorating techniques passed down from Eastern European ancestors, colored and decorated eggs have been central to Easter and springtime celebrations for centuries, rich with symbolic and mystical meanings. In some cultures, it was exclusively the women's role to adorn these Easter eggs, with men traditionally kept away during the decorating process to avoid bad luck or spells. Once decorated, these eggs weren't just beautiful—they were believed to bring luck and fortune, and even protect the family home when buried at the front door. So, whether your Easter involves decorating, rolling, hunting, tapping, or simply enjoying these eggs, wishing you a joyful and colorful Easter! 💗 💙 💚 🥚 🐣 🐰 🧺
An Easter Basket Index of Dances
(click for dance description or cribs)
Dance | Type | Couples | Devisor | Source | Link Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Easter Wedding | Reel | 4C | Perkins & Gorman | New Forest | |
Evelyn's Easter Exercise | Strathspey | Eccles | Coming Soon | ||
Just a Dozen | Reel | 6C | Green | 8 x 32 | |
Spring Chicken | Jig | Hugues | Leeds Silver Thistle | ||
Spring Equinox | Reel | 3C | Gallamore | The Highland Road Collection [22] | Coming Soon |
The Easter Egg | Jig | 4C | Burke | Belfast 40th | |
The Easter Reel | Reel | 4C | Burke | ||
The Hot Cross Bun | Reel | 3C | Knooihuizen | Dunedin Dances Book 6 | |
The Lenten Rose | Strathspey | 3C | McKinnell |