Pixie Day is a tradition that takes place in Ottery St. Mary, England, annually on the Saturday nearest Mid-Summer's Day in June. Dating from 1954, and based on a pamphlet written by R. F. Delderfield for the 500th anniversary of the installation of the bells of the Church of St. Mary, the event commemorates a legend of Ottery St. Mary's 'pixies' being banished from the town (where they caused havoc) to a local cave known as 'Pixies' Parlour'.
The celebrations begin in the early afternoon when a large fête takes place on the Land of Caanan park. At 6 pm the celebrations focus on Ottery's town square. Hundreds of 'pixies' (made up of local Cubs and Brownies dressed in pixie attire) capture the St. Mary's church bell ringers and drag them from the church to the Land of Canaan, where a reenactment of the pixies' banishment takes place.
The legend
As told in Delderfield's The pixies' revenge; or, the threat to the bells of St. Mary's Church, Ottery,
See also
- Songs of the Pixies
References
External links
- Pixie Day on Ottery St Mary tourist site
- Pixie Day at Ottery St Mary Town Council