View source for Wren Day

{{Short description|Irish and Manx tradition on 26 December}}
{{about|the celebration on 26 December in Ireland and other countries|the English folk song|Cutty Wren}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
[[File:Wren_used_for_Hunt_the_Wren.jpg|thumb|A [[taxidermy]] wren used for Hunt the Wren Day in [[Douglas, Isle of Man]]]]
'''Wren Day''' ({{langx|ga|Lá an Dreoilín}}), or '''Hunt the Wren Day''' ({{langx|gv|Shelg yn Dreean}}), or '''[[Hunt the Wren]]''' ({{langx|gv|Shelg yn Dreean}}), is an [[Ireland|Irish]] and [[Isle of Man|Manx]] custom on 26 December, [[Saint Stephen's Day]] (known in most of [[Ulster]] as [[Boxing Day]]). Traditionally, men and boys hunted a [[Eurasian wren|wren]], which was revered as the 'king of the birds'. They displayed it on top of a staff decorated with holly, ivy and ribbons, or in a decorated box on top of a pole. This was paraded around the neighbourhood by a group of 'Wrenboys'—typically dressed in straw masks, greenery and colourful [[motley]] clothing—who sang songs and played music in exchange for donations. This was meant to ensure prosperity for the coming year. Afterwards, the wren was buried. On the Isle of Man, they held a funeral for the wren and danced around a 'wren pole'. 

There were similar New Year traditions in parts of western Britain and France until the nineteenth century. There are several folk tales about the origin of the wren hunt. It is speculated that the tradition derives from ancient [[Ancient Celtic religion|Celtic paganism]] and was originally a sacrifice associated with the [[winter solstice]]. In most places, Wren Day gradually died out following [[industrialisation]], but it has been undergoing a revival since the late 20th century. Today, the wren is no longer hunted, and a mock or [[Taxidermy|stuffed]] wren is used instead. It is especially popular on the Isle of Man and in [[County Kerry|Kerry]].

==Irish tradition==
[[File:St. Stephens Day (26 December) in Dingle, Co Kerry.jpg|thumb|Wrenboys on Saint Stephen's Day in [[Dingle]], Ireland.]]

Historically, and up until the mid-20th century in many parts of rural [[Ireland]], groups of men and boys hunted a wren (also pronounced ''wran'')<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ballinagree.freeservers.com/chrisireland.html|title=Christmas and New Year in Ireland Long Ago|website=Ballinagree.freeservers.com|access-date=15 January 2018}}</ref> on Saint Stephen's Day. They beat the bushes and hedges with sticks, and when a wren flew out they tried to down the bird by throwing sticks, stones and other objects at it.<ref name="Lawrence">{{cite book |last1=Lawrence |first1=Elizabeth Atwood |title=Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol |date=1997 |publisher=University of Tennessee Press |pages=46–48, 60–63}}</ref> Whoever killed the wren was believed to have good luck for a year.<ref name="Lawrence"/>

The dead wren was usually placed inside a 'wren bush', which was usually a ball of holly, ivy and colourful ribbons fastened to the top of a long staff.<ref name="Lawrence: Ireland">{{cite book |last1=Lawrence |first1=Elizabeth Atwood |title=Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol |date=1997 |publisher=University of Tennessee Press |pages=55–56}}</ref><ref name="Muller ritual">{{cite journal |last1=Muller |first1=Sylvie |title=The Irish Wren Tales and Ritual: To Pay or Not to Pay the Debt of Nature |journal=Béaloideas: The Journal of the Folklore of Ireland Society |date=1996 |volume=64/65 |pages=141–145}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Eveleth |first=Rose |author-link=Rose Eveleth |title=The Irish Used to Celebrate the Day After Christmas by Killing Wrens |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-irish-used-to-celebrate-the-day-after-christmas-by-killing-wrens-172713515/ |access-date=2021-03-14 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}}</ref> Sometimes the 'wren bush' was a wheel-shaped or ball-shaped frame of evergreen wreaths and ribbons.<ref name="Muller ritual"/> A group of 'Wrenboys' or 'Droluns' ({{langx|ga|lucht an dreoilín}}) then carried it in procession around the neighbourhood.<ref name="Lawrence: Ireland"/> In some areas they wore straw masks and costumes, while in others they wore masks made from the skin of a goat, a rabbit or a horse.<ref name="Muller ritual"/> In [[County Kerry|Kerry]], they were accompanied by a [[hobby horse]] called the ''[[Láir Bhán]]''.<ref name="Muller ritual"/> They sang songs about the wren, to the sound of [[Bodhrán|drums]], [[Irish flute|fifes]] and [[Diatonic button accordion|melodeons]].<ref name="Lawrence: Ireland"/> The Wrenboys visited each house in the community—except those which had recently been affected by a death<ref name="Muller ritual"/>—collecting money, food or drink.<ref name="Lawrence: Ireland"/> This was meant to ensure prosperity for each household in the coming year.<ref name="Muller ritual"/> At the end of the day, the wren was buried, and sometimes given human burial rites by being placed in a tiny coffin and [[Keening|keened]].<ref name="Muller ritual"/> The money, food and drink was used for a 'wren dance', sometimes called the 'wren's [[Wake (ceremony)|wake]]', which was meant to bring unmarried people together.<ref name="Muller ritual"/>

Today, the wren hunt no longer takes place, but Wren Day has survived or been revived in a few towns and villages, mainly in the southern parts of Ireland, such as in [[Dingle]] in [[County Kerry]]. Groups of Wrenboys hold small parades and carry around a [[Taxidermy|stuffed]] or fake wren.<ref name="Lawrence"/><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2023/12/27/those-that-went-before-us-kept-it-going-from-generation-to-generation/ | title=Wren Day: 'Those that went before us kept it going from generation to generation' | newspaper=[[The Irish Times]] }}</ref> They usually collect money for charity or to host a dance or "Wren Ball" for the town.<ref name=":0"/>

=== Song ===

Whilst going from house to house, the Wrenboys would sing a song, of which there are many variations, asking for donations. One variation sung in [[Edmondstown]], [[County Dublin]], ran as such (the last two lines of which are used in several festive British begging songs and rhymes including "[[Christmas Is Coming|Christmas is Coming]]"):
{{poem quote
|text=The wren the wren the king of all birds
St Stephen's Day was caught in the [[furze]]
Her clothes were all torn- her shoes were all worn
Up with the kettle and down with the pan
Give us a penny to bury the "wran"
If you haven't a penny, a halfpenny will do
If you haven't a halfpenny, God bless you!<ref>The Schools' Collection, Volume 0797, Page 44</ref>}} In a 1978 recording, the [[Sean-nós singing|sean-nós]] singer [[Joe Heaney|Seosamh Ó hÉanaí]] discusses Wren Day activities and the lore behind the tradition. He sings a [[Macaronic song|macaronic]], [[English language|English]]-[[Irish language|Irish]] text: "Dreoilín, dreoilín, Rí na nÉan (Wren, wren, King of Birds)".<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|date=2 March 1978|title=Lore About the Wren|url=https://www.joeheaney.org/en/lore-about-the-wren/|access-date=7 October 2021|website=Cartlanna Sheosaimh Uí Éanaí|language=}}</ref>

==Manx tradition==
{{main|Hunt the Wren}}
[[File:Hunt the Wren on the beach at Port St. Mary.jpg|thumb|Hunt the Wren on the sand at [[Port St Mary]], 2016]]
Traditionally, a wren was hunted on the [[Isle of Man]] every Saint Stephen's Day, as in Ireland.<ref name="Lawrence: Manx">{{cite book |last1=Lawrence |first1=Elizabeth Atwood |title=Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol |date=1997 |publisher=University of Tennessee Press |pages=48–53}}</ref> Usually, the wren's body would be hung inside the 'wren bush' – a ball-shaped frame made from two crossed wreaths of holly or ivy, decorated with ribbons.<ref name="Lawrence: Manx"/> In some villages, the wren's body was displayed in a 'wren house' – a small wooden box with windows, decorated with greenery and ribbons.<ref name="Lawrence: Manx"/> These wren bushes or wren houses were held aloft on poles and taken around the neighbourhood by 'wrenboys', some of whom were decked in greenery or flew coloured banners.<ref name="Lawrence: Manx"/> Singing "Hunt the Wren" ({{langx|gv|Shelg yn Dreean}}) and beating drums, they went from house to house asking for coins. When a coin was given, the donor might receive a feather from the wren. These feathers were kept or worn as an [[amulet]] to guard against supernatural harm and [[witchcraft]].<ref name="Lawrence: Manx"/>

At the end of the day, a funeral was held for the wren and it was buried at the parish church by torchlight.<ref name="Lawrence: Manx"/> [[George Waldron]] recorded in 1731 that they buried the wren "with a whimsical kind of solemnity, singing [[dirge]]s over her in the [[Manx language]]".<ref name="Lawrence: Manx"/> According to folklorist [[Mona Douglas]], after the dead wren was buried, a living wren was placed in a wicker cage inside the wren bush, and the people danced around it. When the dance ended, the wren was set free, and the bush was burned on the dead wren's grave.<ref name="Lawrence: Manx"/> Manx folklore held that the wren's spirit would be reborn each year.<ref name="Lawrence: Manx"/> 

According to Douglas, in the eighteenth century the Manx church were hostile to the ceremony, but knew they could not prevent it. She wrote that when the group arrived at the church with the sacrificed wren, the vicar "took good care to absent himself from the proceedings, for they were frowned upon by the church at that time as being Pagan and superstitious".<ref name="Lawrence: Manx"/>

The tradition was revived on the Isle of Man during the 1990s, although a wren is no longer killed. Today, it mainly involves music, singing and dancing around a decorated wren bush or wren pole in which a stuffed or fake wren is placed.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/isleofman/content/articles/2005/12/07/hunting_the_wren_feature.shtml Hunting the Wren]. BBC Isle of Man.</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Hunt the Wren: Ancient Manx tradition grows in popularity |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-isle-of-man-59742137 |work=BBC News |date=26 December 2021}}</ref>

==Origin==
[[File:Hunt the Wren, Ramsey, 1904.jpg|thumb|Wrenboys in [[Ramsey, Isle of Man]], 1904]]
In regions where Wren Day was traditional, the wren was deeply revered; it was deemed a special bird, the "king of all birds", and harming it was [[taboo]]. However, on Wren Day this taboo was "replaced by highly complex rituals that grew out of ancient beliefs".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lawrence |first1=Elizabeth Atwood |title=Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol |date=1997 |publisher=University of Tennessee Press |pages=46}}</ref> The ninth century ''[[Sanas Cormaic|Cormac's Glossary]]'' derives the [[Old Irish]] word for "wren", ''drean'', from ''druí-én'', meaning "[[druid]] bird", and says it is "a bird that makes prophecies". Another early Irish text, the ''Life of Saint Moling'', calls the wren "the magus bird, because some take [[Augury|auguries]] from it".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hutton |first1=Ronald |title=The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain |date=1996 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=97}}</ref>

The origin of wren day and the wren hunt is obscure. According to Elizabeth Atwood Lawrence, "evidence suggests an origin in the far distant past".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lawrence |first1=Elizabeth Atwood |title=Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol |date=1997 |publisher=University of Tennessee Press |pages=108}}</ref> Many scholars believe that the wren hunt has ancient pagan origins and is related to [[animal sacrifice]] and the [[winter solstice]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lawrence |first1=Elizabeth Atwood |title=Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol |date=1997 |publisher=University of Tennessee Press |pages=100, 108-109, 117, 123 |quote=The custom of hunting and killing the wren is undoubtedly related to practices of animal sacrifice of pre-Christian origin}}</ref><ref name="Armstrong 161">{{cite book |last1=Armstrong |first1=Edward |author1-link=Edward Allworthy Armstrong |title=The Folklore of Birds |date=1958 |publisher=Collins |page=161, 166 |quote=it is a natural inference that the Hunt, taking place, as it does, about the winter solstice, belongs to the great category of rites which have as their object the banishment of evil influences at a seasonal crisis. ... But there is no definite evidence that the wren was ever a scapegoat in the Old Testament sense of a sin-bearer driven from the community ... However, there is much to suggest that the Wren Hunt was sacrificial. The bird was reverenced but killed at one season only, the feathers were regarded as talismans, the body was sometimes buried with respect, the chief human actor was regarded as in some sense a king, and the bird itself was given a royal title. ... We may conclude that the Wren Cult reached the British Isles during the Bronze Age}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Frazer |first1=James George |title=The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion |date=1912 |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/42336/pg42336-images.html |chapter=Part V: Spirits of the Corn and of the Wild |edition=Third |quote=Ceremonies closely analogous to this Indian worship of the snake have survived in Europe into recent times, and doubtless date from a very primitive paganism. The best-known example is the 'hunting of the wren.'}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Whitlock |first1=Ralph |author1-link=Ralph Whitlock |title=In Search of Lost Gods: A Guide to British Folklore |date=1979 |publisher=Phaidon |page=96 |quote=The wren-hunt ritual is extremely ancient, its origins having been tentatively traced back to Neolithic times.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Spence |first1=Lewis |author1-link=Lewis Spence |title=Myth and Ritual in Dance, Game and Rhyme |date=1971 |publisher=Grand River Books |pages=45–47}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Stewart |first1=Robert |title=Pagan Imagery in English Folksong |date=1977 |publisher=Humanities Press |page=19 |quote=it is usually accepted that the wren-king is likely to be a form of symbolism or substitution for the human sacrificial victim.}}</ref> [[Edward Allworthy Armstrong]] says "there is much to suggest that the Wren Hunt was sacrificial. The bird was reverenced but killed at one season only, the feathers were regarded as talismans, the body was sometimes buried with respect, the chief human actor was regarded as in some sense a king, and the bird itself was given a royal title".<ref name="Armstrong 161"/> Folklorist [[Christina Hole]] speculates that it may have derived from the periodic [[Human sacrifice|sacrifice]] of a [[sacred king]].<ref name="Hole 112">{{cite book |last1=Hole |first1=Christina |title=British Folk Customs |date=1976 |publisher=Hutchinson |page=112 |quote=But these tales, and others like them, are mere rationalizations of a ritual that appears to be older than Christianity, and probably originally from ancient notions connected with the periodic sacrifice of the divine king.}}</ref> In Celtic tradition, the king's rule was linked to the health and prosperity of the land. According to Lawrence, the belief may have been that at midwinter, "the faltering forces of nature" had to be renewed, by ritually killing the wren who represented the old king and the old year.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lawrence |first1=Elizabeth Atwood |title=Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol |date=1997 |publisher=University of Tennessee Press |pages=113–115}}</ref> Similarly, folklorist Sylvie Muller sees the wren as a stand-in for man, and sees the wren hunt as representing a sacrifice to ensure the bountifulness of nature. According to Muller, this comes from the pre-farming belief that mankind owes a life debt to nature in return for the life that we take from it.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Muller |first1=Sylvie |title=The Irish Wren Tales and Ritual: To Pay or Not to Pay the Debt of Nature |journal=Béaloideas: The Journal of the Folklore of Ireland Society |date=1996 |volume=64/65 |pages=147–151}}</ref> 

===Folk tales===
There are several folk tales about the origin of the wren hunt. Armstrong wrote that the "multiplicity and inconsistency" of the stories "show that we are dealing with a very ancient ceremonial, the origin of which has been forgotten".<ref name="Armstrong 160"/>  Christina Hole described the stories as "mere rationalizations of a ritual that appears to be older than Christianity".<ref name="Hole 112"/>

Some stories say that it is hunted on Saint Stephen's Day because a wren wakened the guards when [[Saint Stephen]] tried to escape from captivity. Another says that the saint had a pet wren that was stoned to death along with him. Yet another rationalizes it as a memorial of the [[Massacre of the Innocents]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lawrence |first1=Elizabeth Atwood |title=Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol |date=1997 |publisher=University of Tennessee Press |pages=100}}</ref>

There is a widespread folk tale about how the wren (or [[Goldcrest|gold-crested wren]]) outwitted the eagle to become 'king of the birds'. This story has been recorded since [[Ancient history|ancient times]] and is found all over Europe. In some Irish versions, the wren must pay for having gained this royal title, or is put under a ''[[geis]]'' (a mystical taboo) that it must not fly higher than the top of a bush. This is explained as the reason the wren is hunted once a year.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Muller |first1=Sylvie |title=The Irish Wren Tales and Ritual: To Pay or Not to Pay the Debt of Nature |journal=Béaloideas: The Journal of the Folklore of Ireland Society |date=1996 |volume=64/65 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20522463 |page=136 |doi=10.2307/20522463 |jstor=20522463 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> In Irish mythology, kings are likewise often put under a ''geis'', and they mystically die or are killed when they break their ''geis''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Muller |first1=Sylvie |title=The Irish Wren Tales and Ritual: To Pay or Not to Pay the Debt of Nature |journal=Béaloideas: The Journal of the Folklore of Ireland Society |date=1996 |volume=64/65 |page=146}}</ref> 

Possibly the earliest written reference to a wren hunt is a medieval Irish legend about [[Saint Moling]]. It says that the saint cursed the wren to be hunted by young people because it ate his pet fly.<ref name="Armstrong 160">{{cite book |last1=Armstrong |first1=Edward |author1-link=Edward Allworthy Armstrong |title=The Folklore of Birds |date=1958 |publisher=Collins |page=160}}</ref> Other legends say that Irish people hunt the wren once a year because it alerted their enemies as the Irish were about to ambush them; these enemies are variously said to be the [[Vikings]], [[Cromwellian conquest of Ireland|Cromwell's army]], or the [[Williamite]] army.<ref name="Armstrong 160"/>

In Manx folklore, the origin of the wren hunt is linked with a beautiful fairy woman. The story goes that the woman enchanted all the men of the island to follow her in hope of marrying her, and they neglected their homes and fields. The fairy woman lured the men into the sea where they drowned. One day a hero found a way of averting her charms. But before she could be defeated, she [[Shapeshifting|shapeshifted]] into a wren and flew away. However, she was cursed to re-appear once a year as a wren, and this is why the wren is hunted on this day.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lawrence |first1=Elizabeth Atwood |title=Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol |date=1997 |publisher=University of Tennessee Press |pages=103–104}}</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/isleofman/content/articles/2005/12/07/hunting_the_wren_feature.shtml Hunting the Wren], bbc.co.uk, 23 Dec 2005</ref>

In [[Welsh mythology]], the hero [[Lleu Llaw Gyffes]] (Lleu of the Skilful Hand) gains his byname by striking a wren with perfect aim, "between the sinew and the bone".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lawrence |first1=Elizabeth Atwood |title=Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol |date=1997 |publisher=University of Tennessee Press |pages=106}}</ref>

==Parallel traditions==
The typical wren hunt occurred in Ireland, the Isle of Man, Wales, England and France, "areas where [[Celts|Celtic]] tradition was firmly entrenched".<ref name="Lawrence 60">{{cite book |last1=Lawrence |first1=Elizabeth Atwood |title=Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol |date=1997 |publisher=University of Tennessee Press |pages=60}}</ref> Although there was some regional variation, the basic pattern of the ritual was the same wherever it occurred.<ref name="Lawrence 60">{{cite book |last1=Lawrence |first1=Elizabeth Atwood |title=Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol |date=1997 |publisher=University of Tennessee Press |pages=60}}</ref> In Britain and Ireland, the wren hunt was usually held on [[Saint Stephen's Day]], but wren hunts also took place on [[Christmas Eve]], [[New Year's Eve]], [[New Year's Day]], and [[Twelfth Day]] (5 January).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lawrence |first1=Elizabeth Atwood |title=Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol |date=1997 |publisher=University of Tennessee Press |pages=47}}</ref> By the early 20th century, industrialization and changing beliefs had begun to erode the tradition.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lawrence |first1=Elizabeth Atwood |title=Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol |date=1997 |publisher=University of Tennessee Press |pages=63}}</ref>

The Wrenboys have some similarities with the ''skeklers'' of [[Shetland]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Smith|first=Laura|title=The Honest Truth: A spooky step back in time to skekling, Shetland's ancient form of Halloween guising|url=https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/the-honest-truth-spooky-step-back-in-time-reveals-shetlands-halloween-skeklers/|access-date=2021-03-14|website=The Sunday Post|date=30 October 2020 |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Wales ===
In Wales, the tradition of 'hunting the wren' ({{langx|cy|Hela'r Dryw}}) took place every Twelfth Day, and the practice continued in [[Pembrokeshire]] until the beginning of the twentieth century.<ref name="Lawrence 66">{{cite book |last1=Lawrence |first1=Elizabeth Atwood |title=Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol |date=1997 |publisher=University of Tennessee Press |pages=66}}</ref> Like in some Manx traditions, in Wales the dead wren was typically placed in a "Wren House" – a small wooden box with windows, decorated with greenery and ribbons – which was then carried around the neighbourhood by "wren bearers".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lawrence |first1=Elizabeth Atwood |title=Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol |date=1997 |publisher=University of Tennessee Press |pages=53}}</ref> In some cases, "wrenboys" caught a live wren and placed it in the Wren House, and then the wrenboys called on people to make offerings to the little "king" until the end of the day, when the bird was set free.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lawrence |first1=Elizabeth Atwood |title=Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol |date=1997 |publisher=University of Tennessee Press |pages=59}}</ref>

=== England ===
The tradition was found in parts of England, but it gradually died out or was put down by the authorities by the mid-nineteenth century.<ref name="Lawrence 66"/> In the late 20th century, Pete Jennings and the ''Old Glory Molly Dancers'' revived the wren hunt in [[Suffolk]], and it has been performed in [[Middleton, Suffolk|Middleton]] on the evening of every [[Boxing Day]] since 1994.<ref>''Old Glory & The Cutty Wren'' by Pete Jennings.</ref>

===France===
There are similar mid-winter wren ceremonies in parts of France. [[James George Frazer]] describes in ''[[The Golden Bough]]'' a wren-hunting ritual in [[Carcassonne]], held in early December.<ref>''The Golden Bough'' by James George Frazer, NuVision Publications, LLC, 2006, {{ISBN|1-59547-959-7}}, {{ISBN|978-1-59547-959-4}}. pp.294-295</ref> The ''Fête du Roi de l'Oiseau'' (festival of the king of birds) was first recorded in 1524 at [[Puy-en-Velay]], and is still celebrated.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.lonelyplanet.com/france/le-puy-en-velay/events/fete-du-roi-de-loiseau/a/poi-fes/1234936/1317035 |title=Fête du Roi de l'Oiseau |website=Lonely Planet |access-date=13 April 2020}}</ref> In parts of France, whoever was first to strike, catch or kill the wren was honoured with the title of King. He led a torchlit procession around the town, carrying the wren on a pole. They stopped at each house, and wrote ''vive le roi!'' (long live the king) on each door.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lawrence |first1=Elizabeth Atwood |title=Hunting the Wren: Transformation of Bird to Symbol |date=1997 |publisher=University of Tennessee Press |pages=116}}</ref>

The [[Saint-Germain-des-Prés (abbey)|Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés]] has a document from 1663 in which the [[Prior (ecclesiastical)|prior]] undertakes to give thirty pots of wine each year to the ''bacheliers'', if they bring him a living wren as tribute at Christmas or New Year.<ref name="Armstrong 146">{{cite book |last1=Armstrong |first1=Edward |author1-link=Edward Allworthy Armstrong |title=The Folklore of Birds |date=1958 |publisher=Collins |page=146}}</ref> A captured wren was also given as tribute to the priory of [[Châteauponsac]] each New Year's Day. The man who caught the wren became "King of the Fête" and the wren was paraded to the church accompanied by fife and drum.<ref name="Armstrong 146"/>

===Galicia===
In [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]], [[Spain]], the ''Caceria do rei Charlo'' (Chase of King Charles) was performed around midwinter. The inhabitants of Vilanova de [[Lourenzá]] would chase down a wren and, after tying it to a pole, would parade it and show it to the [[abbot]] of the local monastery, who would then offer them food and drink and appoint two leaders of the local town council out of the four candidates proposed by townsmen. This tradition has been recorded since the 16th century.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://anuariobrigantino.betanzos.net/Ab2001PDF/2001%20083_102.pdf|title=La cacería del reyezuelo: análisis de una cacería ancestral en los países célticos|author=FERNANDO ALONSO ROMERO|website=Anuariobrigantino.betanzos.net|access-date=15 January 2018}}</ref> It is unclear which specific date this tradition was performed on; sources call it "New Year's Day", which may not refer to the New Year on the [[Gregorian calendar]] but instead to the day after Christmas, which at that time was considered the end of the year.<ref>"La cacería del reyezuelo: análisis de una cacería ancestral en los países célticos" by Fernando Alonso Romero at Anuario Brigantino, issue 24, 2001</ref>

== Popular songs ==
In 1955 [[Liam Clancy]] recorded "The Wran Song" ("The Wren Song"), which was sung in Ireland by wrenboys.<ref>Example:[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnzlnuc-Mfk  "The Wren The Wren"], Celtic Tradition, Amiga, 1987.</ref> In 1972 [[Steeleye Span]] recorded "The King" on ''[[Please to See the King]]'', which also reflects the tradition; on their album ''[[Time (Steeleye Span album)|Time]]'' they made another version, "The Cutty Wren", named after [[Cutty Wren|the traditional English folk song]]. "Hunting the Wren" appears on [[John Kirkpatrick (folk musician)|John Kirkpatrick]]'s album ''Wassail!''. [[The Chieftains]] made a collection of wrenboy tunes on ''[[The Bells of Dublin]]''. In the song "[[The Boys of Barr na Sráide]]", which is based on a poem by [[Sigerson Clifford]], the wren hunt is also a prominent theme. [[Lankum]]'s 2019 album ''The Livelong Day'' includes a track called "Hunting the Wren" that references several of the legends and practices connected with Wren Day.

"The Wren [Wran] Song" is also on the [[The Clancy Brothers|Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem]]'s 1995 album ''[[Ain't It Grand Boys|Ain't It Grand Boys: A Collection of Unissued Gems]]'', as the last song in "Children's Medley".<ref>[https://www.amazon.com/Aint-Grand-Boys-Clancy-Brothers/dp/B0000029FL "Ain't it Grand Boys: A Collection of Unissued Gems"], the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, Columbia Records, 1995. [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00138C9CA/ref=dm_mu_dp_trk17 Children's Medley], ibid.</ref>

== See also ==
*[[Mummer's Day]]
*[[The Armagh Rhymers]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://collections.mun.ca/digital/collection/ich_social/id/301/rec/2 Archived audio recording of The Wren Song, sung by Will Murphy, Colliers, Newfoundland]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8ntUNbPW10 Hunt the Wren in the Isle of Man]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070327100314/http://www.dingle-peninsula.ie/wren.html Hunting the Wren on the Dingle peninsula] - An excellent account of the origins, history, contemporary aspects and international connections of the wren.
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/isleofman/content/articles/2005/12/07/hunting_the_wren_feature.shtml Hunting the Wren], bbc.co.uk, 23 Dec 2005

{{Winter solstice}}

{{Ireland topics}}

[[Category:Animal sacrifice]]
[[Category:December observances]]
[[Category:Celtic folklore]]
[[Category:Gaelic culture]]
[[Category:Irish folklore]]
[[Category:Manx folklore]]
[[Category:Welsh folklore]]
[[Category:International observances]]
[[Category:Winter in the Republic of Ireland]]
[[Category:Winter traditions]]
[[Category:Birds in culture]]
[[Category:Bird mortality]]