Chewidden Thursday (also known as White Thursday, Chewidden Day or Jew-whidn) was a festival celebrated by the
tin miners of West
Cornwall
Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
on the last clear Thursday before (i.e. at least one week before)
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
. The festival celebrated the discovery of 'white tin' or smelted tin by St Chiwidden, a little-known Cornish saint who in legend was an associate of
St Piran.
Robert Hunt in ''Popular Romances of the West of England'' states:
See also
*
Picrous Day
*
Tom Bawcock's Eve
*
St Piran's Day
Saint Piran's Day (), or the Feast of Saint Piran, is the national day of Cornwall, held on 5 March every year. The day is named after one of the patron saints of Cornwall, Saint Piran, who is also the patron saint of tin miners.
Origins
St ...
References
Culture of Cornwall
December observances
Festivals in Cornwall
Christmas-linked holidays
Cornish festivals
Christian festivals and holy days
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