Collections Online

Letter from John Barrett (London) to Dr Glyn Daniel (Cambridge). [1959] - Ref : The 'egg-clapper', suggesting "that it is a relic of pre-Reformation days and that its use in Wales is some centuries old. In the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church no bell is used on Good Friday, but a wooden clapper is used in its stead, and I would suggest that herein lies the origin of the use of the egg-clapper at Easter in some parts of Wales to-day". I.C.P. replies thus - "Egg-collecting is, of course, a wide-spread European custom, and there are theories concerning the use of egg-clappers. The one you suggest may well be the correct one, but without more information, we preferred not to theorize".