Ascension Day
Preserved but no longer current.
The school-children, accom- panied by the clergymen and parish officers, walked through their parish from end to end; the boys were switched with willow wands all along the lines of boundary, the idea being to teach them to know the bounds of their parish.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Ascension Day” mean?
The school-children, accom- panied by the clergymen and parish officers, walked through their parish from end to end; the boys were switched with willow wands all along the lines of boundary, the idea being to teach them to know the bounds of their parish.
Is “Ascension Day” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.