Acknowledgements (p.4)

List of illustrations (p.7-8)

Foreword (p.9)

I. The Medieval 'plays': (p.11-18 inclusive)

The playfields (p.14-15)

The banning of [festival] plays (p.15-18)

II. A Calendar of Festivals

Candlemas: Celtic festival of spring (p.19-34 inclusive)

The Day of Bride (p.19-20)

Bride and the Cailleach (p.20-21)

St. Bride of Kildare (p.21-22)

St. Bride of the Isles (p.22-25)

Bride as the spirit of the corn (p.25-27)

The Rite of the Serpent (p.27-28)

Memorials of St. Bride (p.28-29)

The Day of Mary (p.29-30)

The Candlemas procession (p.30-32)

The Candlemas King (p.32-34)

Mealie Monday (p.34)

III. St. Valentine's Day (p.35-38)

IV. Fastern's E'en: Day of Shriving (p.39-45 inclusive)

The Ba'in (p.40-41)

Horse-racing (p.41)

Cock-fights (p.41-42)

Special dishes (p.42-44)

Divination rites (p.44-45)

V. Pasch or Easter: The Nature festival (p.46-54 inclusive)

Car-Sunday (p.47)

Palm Sunday (p.47-48)

Maunday Thursday (p.48)

The Easter egg (p.48-50)

The hot cross bun (p.50)

The Pesse pie (p.50-51)

The Easter sun (p.51)

VI. Gowkin' Day or All Fools' Day (p.52-54)

VII. Beltane. 1, The Fire Festival: Celtic festival of summer (P.55-82 inclusive)

Conducted by Druids in honour of the sun (p.55-58)

Survivals among herdsmen in Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries (p.58-62)

The Rowan (p.62-63)

Saining rites (p.63-64)

May dew (p.65-66 plus preceding plates)

Divination (p.66)

The Beltane bannock (p.66-68)

The Beltane caudle (p.68)

The Beltane cheese (p.68)

The Beltane flitting to the summer shielings (p.68-70)

Hymn of the procession (p.70-72)

Sites of the festival (p.72-73)

Rood Day (p.74)

VIII. Beltane. 2, The Floralia: The May Queen and King (p.75-82 inclusive)

The Maypole (p.76-78)

The Robin Hood games (p.78-79)

Suppression of the May play (p.79-80)

Lingering rites (p.80-82)

IX. St. Columba's Day (p.83-85)

X. Midsummer Eve: Scandinavian festival of summer (p.86-93 inclusive)

Survival of rites in Orkney, Shetland and the north-east (p.87-89)

The bonfires (p.89-92)

Anniversary of Bannockburn (p.92-93)

St. Peter's Eve (p.93)

XI. Lammas or Lunasdal: Celtic festival of autumn (p.94-101 inclusive)

Handfasting (p.94-97)

Fairs and foys (p.97)

Saining rites (p.97-98)

The Lammas bonfires (p.98)

The Lammas curds (p.98)

The Lammas bannock, or fatling of Mary (p.98-99)

Herds' festival in the lothians and borders (p.99-101)

Horse-washing rite (p.101)

Omens (p.101)

XII. Michaelmas: Kinship of festival with Samhuinn (p.102-115 inclusive)

The Oda, or Michaelmas races (p.102-104)

Gathering of the carrots (p.104-105)

'Lifting' of horses (p.105)

The Michael lamb (p.105)

The Michaelmas struan (p.105-107)

Blessing of the straun (p.108)

The feast (p.108-109)

The cavalcade (p.109-110)

Song of Michael the Victorious (p.110-111)

The Oda again (p.111)

The dance (p.111-113)

Decline of the festival (p.113-114)

Survivals of the struan ritual (p.114-115)

XIII. Festivals of the corn: (p.116-132 inclusive)

The streeking of the plough (p.116-117)

The consecration of the seed (p.117-118)

The reaping blessing (p.118-119)

Spirit of the corn (p.119-120)

Ritual of the last sheaf (p.120-123)

The Cailleach and the Laggard Farmer (p.123-124)

Harvest Home (p.124-125)

The Bere-Barrel (p.125-126)

The Kirn or Maiden-feast or Meal-and-Ale (p.126-127)

The Meal-and Ale (p.127-129)

Babbity Bowster (p.129-130)

Disposal of the last sheaf (p.130-131)

The passing of the Maiden (p.131-132)

Notes (p.133-152)

Index (p.153-161)

Bibliography (p.162-163)