The county of Devon has many strange customs

Devon is a large county in the South West of England. It is blessed with rolling hills, a wild windswept moor and two excellent coastlines to the North and the South. There is something else that distinguishes it from other counties in the country, the amount of strange festivals and annual customs it has. Here are a few to whet your appetite.

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  1. The Honiton Hot Pennies ceremony. Every year the local Mayor and shops toss coins to the children in the high street. Shops in Honiton high street prepare to receive  the coins afterwards! What are the shops in Honiton High Street? Click to find out.
  2. The Lympstone Furry Dance. Cornwall and Devon are great rivals and when it comes to the furry dance the people of Helston might have a thing to say about Lympstones. The festival dates back some one hundred and fifty years ago. The locals get into fancy dress and dance through the streets in procession.

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  1. Not strictly done in Devon anymore one of the strangest was the ritual of Crying the Neck. Back when we cut straw with scythes when it came to the last one to cut the worker to do it  would shout “I ave un!” three times. The other workers would reply “What ave ee!” three times. “A neck!” the worker would shout back. “Hurrah! Hurrah for the neck. Hurrah for Mr (the name of the Farmer who found it)”. No one  is sure why they do this.

And this doesn’t include the many Morris Dancers, Carnivals and Music stroke Cider festivals they have.