Happy Handsel Monday!

An Irish Penny

Handsel Monday was a tradition celebrated in our house, when I was young. The custom is seldom practiced in Ireland today, but was still widely celebrated up to the mid-twentieth century. When my mother was a child in Dublin city, she remembers receiving a three penny bit from her Aunt Kate on the first Monday of each year. When we were children, Mam gave each of us a coin on this day. It was a token of good luck, to ensure our prosperity for the New Year. At least, she said, if we held onto our penny, we would never be penniless. 😂

The tradition, or at least a version of it, was also practiced in Malahide, Co. Dublin, in my Dad's extended family. Christopher Mahon, from the Swords Road, was my third cousin once removed. In September 1938, when he was thirteen years old, Chris participated in a scheme initiated by the Irish Folklore Commission, aiming to capture and preserve the folklore of the Irish Free State, and wrote an essay entitled 'Certain Days'. 'The Schools' Collection', as it is now known, has thousands of such essays, written by school children across Ireland. Chris wrote:

‘The first Monday after Christmas is considered very lucky. It is called Hansel Monday. If people transact any business on that day and receive silver in return it is said they are never short afterwards’.

Apparently, it is an ancient Anglo-Saxon tradition and not a Celtic tradition, as I might have imagined. The word ‘handsel’ apparently has roots in the old English ‘handselen’, meaning ‘delivery into the hand’ and the custom possibly crossed the Irish Sea with Scottish settlers. As the tradition was passed down in my maternal lineage, it might suggest a Scottish, or maybe Northern English, influence. Something to bear in mind as I search for their ancestors.

So, please accept this gift of a virtual penny today, to ensure your prosperity throughout the New Year!