in the Fourth Century A.D., found remnants of the true cross and so Crouchmas came to be. For near fifteen centuries each and every May the third Crouchmas was celebrated and the Latin Mass was heard. But in nineteen-sixty-nine that old holiday was dropped, no longer celebrated, and the Latin Mass was stopped. But in Scandinavia the Crouchmas is still observed, although as a holiday, it's not really been preserved. It's when they let the bull in to betwitch and woo the cow... it is an age-old custom, still observed and practiced now. It's a way of controlling that the calving will occur in the very early Spring which the cattlemen prefer. The logic does make good sense... the holiday's worth having... so we celebrate Crouchmas to manage our herd's calving. >>> Click here for additional archived poetry! <<< Copyright ©2005 by Clark Crouch. |