Pixie Day
Encyclopedia
Pixie Day is a tradition that takes place in Ottery St. Mary, England
, annually on the Saturday nearest Mid-Summer's Day
in June. The day commemorates the age old legend of Ottery St. Mary's infamous 'pixie
s' being banished from the town (where they caused havoc) to the local caves known as 'Pixie's Parlour'. Its current format was created in 1954.
The celebrations begin in the early afternoon when a large fête
takes place on the Land of Caanan park. At 6 pm the celebrations focus on Ottery's town square. Hundreds of 'pixies' (made up of local Cubs and Brownies dressed in pixie attire) capture the St. Mary
's church bell
ringers and drag them from the church to the square, where a reenactment of the pixies' banishment takes place.
The evening climaxes back in the Land of Canaan where a huge fireworks
display takes place.
used to believe in pixies and spirits. A local bishop
, Bishop Grandisson
, decided to build a church in Otteri (later Ottery St. Mary), and commissioned a set of bells for the church to be cast in iron in the bells works in Wales
. The bishop was so concerned about the bells getting destroyed that he organised an escort of monks to bring the bells to Otteri.
On hearing of this, the pixies were worried, as they knew that once the bells were installed in the church, it would be the death knell
of their rule over the land. So they cast a spell over the monks and redirected them from the Otteri road, towards the road leading them to cliffs overlooking the sea at Sidmouth
. Just as the monks were about to fall over the cliff, one of them stubbed his toe on a rock and said "God bless my soul", and immediately the spell was broken.
The bells were then brought to Otteri and installed in the church. However the pixie spell was not completely broken; each year on a day in June the 'pixies' come out and capture the town's bell ringers (and in some years the parish council) and imprison them in Pixies' Parlour to be rescued by the Vicar of Ottery St. Mary. This legend is re-enacted each year by the Cub and Brownie groups of Ottery St. Mary, with a specially constructed Pixie's Parlour in the Town Square.
The original Pixie's Parlour (a cave in sandstone) can be found along the banks of the River Otter
, about a mile south of the Otter Road bridge in Ottery St. Mary.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, annually on the Saturday nearest Mid-Summer's Day
Summer solstice
The summer solstice occurs exactly when the axial tilt of a planet's semi-axis in a given hemisphere is most inclined towards the star that it orbits. Earth's maximum axial tilt to our star, the Sun, during a solstice is 23° 26'. Though the summer solstice is an instant in time, the term is also...
in June. The day commemorates the age old legend of Ottery St. Mary's infamous 'pixie
Pixie
Pixies are mythical creatures of folklore, considered to be particularly concentrated in the areas around Devon and Cornwall, suggesting some Celtic origin for the belief and name.They are usually depicted with pointed ears, and often wearing a green outfit and pointed...
s' being banished from the town (where they caused havoc) to the local caves known as 'Pixie's Parlour'. Its current format was created in 1954.
The celebrations begin in the early afternoon when a large fête
Fête
Fête is a French word meaning festival, celebration or party, which has passed into English as a label that may be given to certain events.-Description:It is widely used in England and Australia in the context of a village fête,...
takes place on the Land of Caanan park. At 6 pm the celebrations focus on Ottery's town square. Hundreds of 'pixies' (made up of local Cubs and Brownies dressed in pixie attire) capture the St. Mary
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
's church bell
Church bell
A church bell is a bell which is rung in a church either to signify the hour or the time for worshippers to go to church, perhaps to attend a wedding, funeral, or other service...
ringers and drag them from the church to the square, where a reenactment of the pixies' banishment takes place.
The evening climaxes back in the Land of Canaan where a huge fireworks
Fireworks
Fireworks are a class of explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. The most common use of a firework is as part of a fireworks display. A fireworks event is a display of the effects produced by firework devices...
display takes place.
The legend
Many hundreds of years ago, in the early days of Christianity, the people of East DevonEast Devon
East Devon is a local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based in Sidmouth, and the largest town is Exmouth.The district was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the borough of Honiton with the urban districts of Budleigh Salterton, Exmouth, Ottery St. Mary, Seaton, Sidmouth...
used to believe in pixies and spirits. A local bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
, Bishop Grandisson
John Grandisson
John Grandisson was a medieval Bishop of Exeter.Grandisson was born at Ashperton near Hereford in 1292. His father William, Lord de Grandisson, was a Burgundian in the household of Edmund, Earl of Lancaster, brother of King Edward I of England. He studied theology at the University of Paris, and...
, decided to build a church in Otteri (later Ottery St. Mary), and commissioned a set of bells for the church to be cast in iron in the bells works in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. The bishop was so concerned about the bells getting destroyed that he organised an escort of monks to bring the bells to Otteri.
On hearing of this, the pixies were worried, as they knew that once the bells were installed in the church, it would be the death knell
Death knell
A death knell is the ringing of a bell to announce a death. This is also called tolling the bell.The ancient custom of ringing a church bell at the actual time of death fell into disuse in England by the end of the 18th century...
of their rule over the land. So they cast a spell over the monks and redirected them from the Otteri road, towards the road leading them to cliffs overlooking the sea at Sidmouth
Sidmouth
Sidmouth is a small town on the English Channel coast in Devon, South West England. The town lies at the mouth of the River Sid in the East Devon district, south east of Exeter. It has a population of about 15,000, of whom 40% are over 65....
. Just as the monks were about to fall over the cliff, one of them stubbed his toe on a rock and said "God bless my soul", and immediately the spell was broken.
The bells were then brought to Otteri and installed in the church. However the pixie spell was not completely broken; each year on a day in June the 'pixies' come out and capture the town's bell ringers (and in some years the parish council) and imprison them in Pixies' Parlour to be rescued by the Vicar of Ottery St. Mary. This legend is re-enacted each year by the Cub and Brownie groups of Ottery St. Mary, with a specially constructed Pixie's Parlour in the Town Square.
The original Pixie's Parlour (a cave in sandstone) can be found along the banks of the River Otter
River Otter
Not to be confused with the animal Otter or the River Ottery in CornwallThe River Otter rises in the Blackdown Hills just inside the county of Somerset, near Otterford, then flows south for some 32 km through East Devon to the English Channel at the western end of Lyme Bay, part of...
, about a mile south of the Otter Road bridge in Ottery St. Mary.