Tom Bawcock's Eve

The festival is held in celebration and in memory of the efforts of legendary Mousehole resident Tom Bawcock to alleviate village starvation by going out fishing in a severe storm. During this festival, Stargazy pie (a mixed fish, egg and potato pie with fish heads sticking out) is eaten and, depending on the year of celebration, a lantern procession takes place.

There are several theories about the origins of this festival, but the first recorded description was made by Robert Morton Nance in 1927 in Old Cornwall magazine . Nance described the festival as it existed in the early 20th century. Within this work, Nance also speculated that the name Bawcock was derived from Beau Coq ( French ): he believed that the cock was a herald of a new light in pagan times and the origins of the festival were pre-Christian. The most likely derivation of the name 'Bawcock' is from Middle English usage (influenced by French) where "bawcock" is a nickname for a good or worthy fellow.

Since the name Tom was often used as a generic description for any man, it is likely that Tom Bawcock was a symbolic name for "any good guy" who risked his life in pursuit of fishing. Midwinter celebrations were also common in one of the main traditional Cornish mining occupations . Picrous Day and Chewidden Thursday appear to have similar origins to Tom Bawcock's Eve. The only similar tradition in the British Isles that can be traced is St Rumbolds Night at Folkestone in Kent. This celebration also took place close to Christmas time where eight hakes were offered at a feast to celebrate St Rumboldo In Italy, a Christmas Eve feast involving fish is called 'Il Cenone', 'Great Supper', or sometimes 'Cena della Vigilia '( the vigil supper ). Today, the observance of the Feast of the Vigil is rarely practiced in Italy, but survives in Italian-American households, where it is better known as the Feast of the Seven Fishes.

Antonia Barber's children's book The Mousehole Cat was inspired by the traditions and practice of Tom Bawcock's eve and resulted in a television production of the same name. ( However, Ms. Barber lists Star-Gazy Pie as a staple of the Mousehole diet prior to Tom's heroic fishing expedition, whereas, according to tradition, it dates back to his legendary return and capture).