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Oak Apple Day or Royal Oak Day〔("29th May was named Royal Oak Day 350 years ago by Act of Parliament. Royal Oak Day marks the Restoration of England’s Monarchy and celebrates our freedom from tyranny" ), royaloakday.org.uk〕 was a formal public holiday celebrated in England on 29 May to commemorate the restoration of the English monarchy, in May 1660. In some parts of the country the day is still celebrated and has also been known as Shick Shack Day, Oak and Nettle Day,〔Hole, Christina (1978). ''A Dictionary of British Folk Customs'', pp114–115, Paladin Granada, ISBN 0-586-08293-X〕 or Arbor Tree Day. In 1660, Parliament declared 29 May a public holiday, "to be for ever kept as a day of thanksgiving for our redemption from tyranny and the King's return to his Government, he entering London that day."〔Samuel Pepys, ''Diary'' 1 June 1660〕 The public holiday, Oak Apple Day, was formally abolished in 1859, but the date retains some significance in local or institutional customs. It is, for example, kept as Founder's Day in the Royal Hospital Chelsea (founded by Charles II in 1681). ==Ceremonies== Traditional celebrations to commemorate the event often entailed the wearing of oak apples (a type of plant gall, possibly known in some parts of the country as a "shick-shack") or sprigs of oak leaves, in reference to the occasion after the Battle of Worcester in September 1651, when the future Charles II of England escaped the Roundhead army by hiding in an oak tree near Boscobel House. Anyone who failed to wear a sprig of oak risked being pelted with bird's eggs or thrashed with nettles.〔 In Upton Grey, after the church bells had been rung at 6 a.m. the bell-ringers used to place a large branch of oak over the church porch, and another over the lych gate. Smaller branches were positioned in the gateway of every house to ensure good luck for the rest of the year.〔(Hampshire Treasures Volume 2 (Basingstoke and Deane) Page 321 - Upton Grey )〕 These ceremonies, which have now largely died out, are perhaps continuations of pre-Christian nature worship. The Garland King who rides through the streets of Castleton, Derbyshire, at the head of a procession, completely disguised in a garland of flowers, which is later affixed to a pinnacle on the parish church tower, can have little connection with the Restoration, even though he dresses in Stuart costume. He is perhaps a kind of Jack in the Green and the custom may have transferred from May Day〔 when such celebrations were permitted again after having been banned by the Puritans. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Oak Apple Day」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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