Oak Apple Day

Oak Apple Day is a holiday to commemorate the restoration of the monarchy in Britain and Ireland, in May 1660. The day is also known as Shick-Shack Day or Arbour Day.

In 1660, Parliament declared 29th May a public holiday: "Parliament had ordered the 29 of May, the King's birthday, 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."

Traditional celebrations to commemorate the event often entailed the wearing of oak apples 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. It is widely believed that these ceremonies, which have now largely died out, (and was formally abolished in 1859) are continuations of pre-Christian nature worship. The wearing of a sprig of oak on the anniversary of Charles' crowning showed that a person was loyal to the restored king. Those who refused to wear an oak-sprig were often set upon, and children would challenge others to show their sprig or have their bottoms pinched. Consequently, this day became known as Pinch-Bum-Day. In parts of England where oak-apples are known as shick-shacks, the day is also known as Shick-Shack Day. These days it is traditional to decorate the house with oak branches on 29th May. In All Saints Church in Northampton, a garland of oak-apples is laid at Charles II's statue. It is also traditional to drink beer and eat plum pudding - especially at the Royal Hospital in Chelsea, which was founded by Charles II on this day.