Everyday Folklore: An almanac for the ritual year

by Liza Frank

For the curious and the adventurous! Turn to any date and you'll find something to learn or do suggested by folklore of the day, the month, or the season.

Some suggestions will take no more effort than sticking your head out the window to look at the clouds, while others might involve knee pads and scouring giant chalk horses cut into hillsides. Taking inspiration from folklore found around the world, each daily entry is a tiny snapshot of what goes on – be it animal or plant lore, love predictions, the zodiac, the supernatural, food, festivals, divination, anniversaries, the weather or luck. By following the customs and traditions of the ritual year, you'll find yourself becoming more engaged with what's happening about you and discover how every month and season creates its own identity.

Dip into this fascinating book at any time of the year and discover something new and intriguing about the world around you. Just beware of the hare...

"An inspiring way to start every day with more joy and fascination."  - Robin Ince

Genres: Nonfiction, Witchcraft, Folklore

272 pages, Hardcover

Published October 31, 2023

About the author

Liza Frank grew up watching B-movies and dreaming of being Chrissie Hynde before working backstage in theatre and film for over a decade. She has written extensively about folklore for The Everyday Lore Project and for a Masters in Folklore Studies from University of Hertfordshire, as well as teaching literacy and creative writing in primary and secondary schools. Out of the many traditions she's tried, her favourite was recreating a Gruel Thursday ritual off the beach in Brighton. That and competitive mince pie eating. She also writes an agony aunt column using folklore to solve dilemmas, and searches for sons of preacher men to persuade them to teach her something. In 2007, her slightly wild photographic exhibition was published as the book My Celebrity Boyfriend. She still dreams of being a rock chick.

Reviews

[Sarah ♡ (let’s interact!) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flicked through my copy of Everyday Folklore that I was gifted for Christmas, and will definitely be coming back to it throughout the year, through the different seasons. This almanac takes inspiration from folklore across the world; be it animal or plant lore, love predictions, zodiac, supernatural, food, festivals, anniversaries, divination, the weather, or of luck.
It will help the reader become more in-tune with, and curious of, what is happening around them. For those of us who are already familiar with the subject of folklore, not all of it will feel like brand-new information, but it is nice how it is presented to us here. 🦉✨

4 Stars

[Natalie all_books_great_and_small · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a gifted copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review as part of the book tour hosted by Random Things Tours.

Everyday Folklore is an Almenac for the ritual year and is just stunning!
The book starts with an introduction followed by a folklore key about topics in the book, and then starts with the month of January leading to the rest of the months of the year. Each month has a saying and song/rhyme page and another page with birthstone, star sign, flower, full moon names list, and a mini shopping list of things to use for that month. Each day has a paragraph dedicated to it and can be read daily or as and when. I've not read every single day yet, but I have been reading them as per the months we're currently in (Sept/october/november). There's a 29th day for February for leap years, too, which I loved!
This would make an amazing gift for any book lover and is definitely one I'll be starting 2024 reading!

[Yvonne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the Kindle version of this book and it was a wealth of information. A mix of folklore from around the world, traditions, customs and some right oddities. The book has some wonderful illustrations and prints adding to the overall charm of this almanac.

It includes so many different things that seem bizarre and quirky but also things that will have been passed down by older generations, the things we refer to as "old wives tales", but as we know some of these do have usefulness to them.

Working through this book day by day and month by month you can if you so wish, try some of the activities or follow some of the suggestions. I do think I will be more inclined to try some of the planting advice rather than maybe trying fire jumping though!

If you are interested in how many sneezes you have and what this means on whatever day you happen to sneeze. How about joining in a tomato food fight, (which sounds like great fun)? Would you like to know when Nettle Day is, or Dotterel Day is?

The book brings together lore from around the world and this means you get a plethora of information and it makes you realise that customs and traditions are still practised based on lunar phases, star signs, weather lore, plant lore and also magical, supernatural and mystical dates. If you think this is all about things from the past, then you would be mistaken as the author has brought her research up to date with mentions of Twitter and one of my favourite days, Star Wars Day!

this is a fabulous book and it is one that you could try to dip in and out of but you will soon find yourself engrossed in it.

As I mentioned I read this on Kindle but I think I will be buying a hardback copy as I had so much fun with it. I would definitely recommend this book for those who like almanacs that are well-researched, full of information and unusual things.

[Staceywh_17 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much, from its gorgeous cover to the page illustrations. It's filled with some bizarre, brilliant and absolutely bonkers folklore from around the globe. It's definitely a book that I'm going to be keeping open on my bedside table and referring to on a daily basis.

There was so much fascinating folklore, along with remedies and rituals that I didn't know were in existence; The Dunmow Flitch Trials - to win yourself some bacon, Old Maid Day - I'm tempted to attempt the pie myself, and I was particularly fascinated by my birthday date June 17th - I love Foxgloves, but now I know they permit witches to enter my home, I think I'll stick to admiring them from afar!

Each month starts with your birthstone, flower and starsign. And it also gives you a mini shopping list of essentials you'll need for your folklore store cupboard.

Ps. July 7th has been noted in my diary, not that I need to be reminded that a special day exists for over indulging in chocolate mind!

[Veronika Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did you know that house spiders are rather partial to classical music and are said to descend their webs to listen, only to climb back up when the movement has finished? That’s no more Classic FM for me then.

Everyday Folklore is not a book that you would sit down and devour in one go like a novel. It's a book to dip into, return to and savour. I've picked out a few of my favourites, like Goat-e-oke and flaying a corpse (the former is doable, the latter will have you locked up, probably permanently). I have had so much fun with this. I highly recommend it.

There are so many snippets I would love to include here but the review would be far too long.

While writing this review, the run up to Christmas has started (though for retailers it began some time around the end of September).

A quick aside, on December 3rd (or any other day presumably), “it’s said the best course of action should you be bitten by a snake is to ask it to suck its venom back. However, given snakes do not
possess external ears and thus may ignore you, you could also try drinking your own urine or ingesting a rather unsavoury recipe (which the author won’t repeat), containing hippopotamus testicle and marjoram.” Or you could just enter I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, where you’ll probably have to eat it anyway.

And that’s it! There are too many Christmas 'traditions' to mention here, but you will have your own, no doubt and celebrate as you do each year. Or maybe you’ll try a new one or two, but in the end it’s all about family and friends, not shopping and debt. Have a good one and many thanks to Liza Frank for this fabulous, insightful delve into folklore, both ancient and modern.

Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book:
Spanning the ritual year, and born from a project the author began in 2020 to write about folklore every day for a year (The Everyday Lore Project), this book joyfully shares a snapshot of folklore from around the world for each day of the year. Whether you want to know how to divine what the weather will be like on Christmas Day, how to cure a hangover after the excesses of Twelfth Night, or why you should avoid hares, this book has a fascinating story to share!

My thoughts:
“Everyday Folklore”, by Liza Frank, subtitled “An Almanac for the Ritual Year”, is a fascinating, fun and hugely detailed book, and beautifully illustrated by Amberly Kramhoft, adding to the pleasure of leafing through the pages.

As the author states in her introduction, this isn’t a typical almanac, in that it isn’t tied to a specific year; rather, there is information for each date suggested by the folklore of that day, month or season, meaning it can be enjoyed whenever you happen to pick it up. Some days obviously have a lot to say for themselves, such as Halloween, Christmas, or New Year — although it turns out there are quite a lot of these! But the author has something interesting to say for them all.

And folklore isn’t confined to hundreds of years ago (although many of the stories and rhymes are of course very old), nor is the author restricted to the UK. The author also includes more modern traditions, many of which I’m particularly fond of, such as Star Wars Day, Star Trek Day (I was pleased to see both acknowledged!), Eurovision and Towel Day (in memory of the late, great Douglas Adams).

There is really something here for everyone, and alongside a mix of the more modern, the author includes fascinating information on traditional folklore from around the world, each marked with a useful Folklore Key to indicate a rough category — including animal lore, apotropaic magic and the supernatural (fairies, dragons, etc.), and celebrations and festivals.

Of course you can read this book cover-to-cover, or read at random as the mood takes you, but I think it will be particularly enjoyable to read each day’s entry as it arrives, to keep in tune with the ritual year and enjoy some interesting stories along the way!

[IE · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this book from the start to the month of “July”, so I have read just over half the book, (I got it from the library so do not have the luxury of only reading one entry per day for an entire year) and while some of it was interesting, I’m now rather bored, it’s hard to tell what’s fact and what is just assumption. Like for example, yarrow has a common name of nosebleed because it stops nosebleeds if inserted into the nostril - it doesn’t cause nosebleeds like this book states. I feel like this book is mocking, I get it’s supposed to be humorous but after a while it feels tedious. DNF

[Venky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Are there certain days where you must avoid taking unnecessary risks such as getting married, being born and bleeding? Which is the most appropriate day for sullying the right-hand-side-back tyre of a bus with your urine? Does yelling “Swallow, swallow take my freckles, and give me rosy cheeks”, on a particular day get rid of those damned spots? In a highly interesting, humorous, and informational read, Liza Frank introduces us to rituals that ensure that the 365 days in a year are never the same again! Falling under the categories of Animal, Plant and Food lore, Apotropaic Magic & the Supernatural, Calendar Custom, Divination and Remedy etc. make and mar the year.

The book begins with an extremely helpful albeit probabilistic advice to start the year off on an enthusiastic note. On the 1st of January, all those seeking good fortune (and who doesn’t) are seriously recommended to dance round a cow wearing a flat cake on its horns. If the non-plussed bovine throws the cake forwards, good fortune is a certainty. However, if the flustered cow hurls the cake backwards, be ready for a dose of misfortune!

On the 20th of February, when Pisces takes over from Aquarius, we are informed that studied attention needs to be paid to the feet. Frostbitten toes may find relief upon the sufferer running around his/her home three times without looking back. In the event the problem is not frost bite but blisters, please check the surrounding environs for a weasel. Making one suck on the blisters while the owner of the afflicted feet is asleep offers remedy.

In a mood to carry your spouse in a mad race? Enter the Dorking Wife-Carrying Race on the 16th of March. If a contestant’s wife is below 50 kilograms in weight, her spouse is handed a \a rucksack full of tinned goods to make up for the deficiency. The race itself is over 380 metres, including a 15-metre incline, need to navigate hay bales and a water hazard. The couple standing last will receive a Pot Noodle and a tin of dog food. The victors – a ticket to represent the UK in the World Wife Carrying Championships in Finland, where all this started in 1992. I honestly do not know which is worse, whether winning or finishing last!


Bats are generally, and for good reasons, not the most loved mammals on the planet. However, you still have an opportunity to appreciate them for whatever good they may have done. 17th April is International Bat Appreciation Day. According to Chinese folklore, sewing a bat-shaped jade button on to the cap of a newborn is akin to gifting the baby happiness and longevity.

Not an intrepid sailor? Fret not. 30 June, the day after the midsummer end is a very safe way to venture out into the sea. Notwithstanding the good tidings, even if one is apprehensive of the waters, there are a few remedies ranging from the nice to the nauseating. So here goes:

fasting for one day before you travel.
Restrict your diet to a mixture of sweet-smelling wine mixed with ground boiled lentils and mint.
Drink the urine of a young boy.
Secrete a lump of earth under your hair from your kitchen hearth.
Seal your stomach with marmalade.
I know not whether this ought to be executed in sequential fashion. If yes, I would sincerely recommend omitting the third step.


Everyday Folklore is packed with oddities such as the above, to the rafters. Some of the warnings, recommendations and practices are downright funny. They will have the reader in splits! And yes, on the 12th of April 1961 just a few hours before Yuri Gagarin shot out into space, folklore has it that he stopped the bus that was transporting him to the launch site and promptly relieved himself on the right-hand-side back tyre, thereby setting off a tradition amongst all men cosmonauts. However, not to be left behind, women cosmonauts bring prefilled vials and splash the contents on the right-hand-side-back tyre of their transport vehicles!

Everyday Folklore: An Almanac for the Ritual Year – an unpredictable journey over uncharted territories and untested waters!

[Krystina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've really enjoyed flicking through this book, as it's very much a dip-in-and-out kind of book (at least at this time of year), i think if I had it in my home I would probably start by checking every day but then end up just doing it every so often so as to make it last longer. I have spent a good deal of the book chuckling at the author's humour, I've loved searching out the asterisks just to see her comments (for example the please don't do this one next to the flaying a corpse folklore!) and her writing style is so easy flowing that I can't see myself tiring of reading this book.
The folklore key at the beginning was really useful, it meant I could skim the key list next to each day to decide if I wanted to investigate that day's traditions, I didn't want to read them all in one go because I think I might try following the year next year because it had a few fun ones I could try with my small humans ( making your own barometer sounds fun)
The illustrations and page colours I thought were brilliant, very cute and them being all over the cover I loved.I think this is a brilliant addition to any shelf, even if you only flick through and try a couple of new bits of folklore it's worth the shelf space!

[kayleigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 🌟🌟🌟🌟

gorgeous book (the colours and illustrations are beautiful)! written in a fun tone, there's something to discover no matter your level of interest. best way to engage with it is to have a hard copy and read an entry each day or dip in and out as the mood strikes.

[Allison · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping for folklore and traditions from around the world, but nearly every entry was based on England. Some were very interesting, but I wanted to know more from other cultures too.