The observance of Plough Sunday on the First Sunday of Epiphany goes back to Victorian times, but behind it there is a much older observance, associated with the first working day after the twelve days of Christmas (hence ‘Plough Monday’ in some places). In medieval times, many ploughs were kept in the parish church, and some churches kept a ‘plough-light’. In days when work was scarce in winter, the observance looked forward to the time of sowing with the promise of a harvest to come. The blessing of the plough was very important, as the village was primarily dependent on a good harvest later that year.
In Wilmcote, Plough Sunday is celebrated on the third Sunday in January and again this year, our Cubs (and Beavers) went along to Mary Arden's Farm in Wilmcote and paraded behind the plough as it was carried aloft by the farm hands.
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