Flitch Day

Flitch Day is an unofficial holiday celebrated annually on July 19. It dates back to an ancient custom that saw married couples earning a flitch of bacon by proving the strength of their union after a year. The couple would stand trial to prove their love and
faithfulness to each other after a year and a day of their marriage, and, if successful, they were given a flitch of bacon as an award. While this tradition is no longer actively practiced, it is still celebrated every three to four years at the Dunmow Flitch Trials.
HISTORY OF FLITCH DAY
While the exact origins of Flitch Day remain unknown, we do know the original tradition started in 1104, when Reginald Fitzwalter and his wife, the lord and lady of a manor, disguised themselves ascommoners and sought the blessing of the prior at the local priory for their marriage. Impressed with their devotion to each other, the
prior gave them a flitch of bacon. This gave rise to the custom in which married couples were awarded a flitch of bacon if they did not regret their marriage after a year and
a day. The couple would undergo a mock trial to prove their love and, if they succeeded, they were awarded a flitch of bacon — about half a pig. This custom took place in Wychnor, Staffordshire, and Little Dunmow in England. In Little Dunmow, married couples would prove that neither one of them regretted their marriage in the previous year and a day and then would kneel in the churchyard on two hard and pointed stones.
They would proceed to take an oath in front of monks and the town inhabitants. Once they succeeded, they were awarded a flitch of bacon and paraded around the town. This custom went on till the mid-18th century. Now, the flitch trials, organized by the
Dunmow Flitch Trials Committee, are still held in Great Dunmow, England, but only in a leap year. It is said that Little Dunmow is the only location to have preserved this custom to date. Althoughthe custom made its way into the United States by colonists, it did
not survive for a long time. The celebrations for National Flitch Day do not involve a trial and are just a reminder and acknowledgment of the tradition.

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