I love digging into and dissecting old Mother Goose rhymes!

The first thing I noticed about this nursery rhyme is that Jack Horner is sitting in the corner; a place usually associated with punishment for a childhood mischief; so from this we may determine that Jack has done something naughty.  But he does not think he is naughty and in fact evaluates himself as a good boy, by virtue of either the existence of a plum in his pie, or by the fact that he himself has the power to extract it.  Both seem rather egotistical and out-of-keeping with how children would have been expected to behave in those long, long years past. So what has really happened here?

​It seems that there was an abbot in Glastonbury during the time of King Henry VIII who decided he would give twelve manor houses to the King.  By this he hoped to discourage the King in his plan to dissolve the Catholic monasteries.  The impending "Dissolution of the Monasteries" resulted in the terrible destruction that we see today when visiting the ruins of these magnificent structures; which aren't actually "ruins" at all, but the result of King Henry the VIII's willful destruction.  The story goes that Thomas Horner, a steward of the abbot, was sent to London with a Christmas Pie that contained the deeds to the twelve manor houses.  He "put in his thumb" and extracted the deed to one manor house ... which he kept for himself, and his descendants live in it to this day.  The alternate story is that he bought the manor house from the King.  Also quite plausible as, when he delivered the Christmas Pie, he may well have known what the pie contained and asked leave to purchase one of the houses.

Either way, it would seem that the writer of this rhyme viewed "Jack Horner" as a "naughty boy in the corner" (opportunist), who saw a "plum" (the manor house) ripe for the picking in the pie, and let him self-proclaim himself "a good boy" (deserving) who was justified in enjoying the good things in life.

So was Jack, in actuality, a naughty boy or a good boy?

I love the ancient tradition wherein an employer would fill a box and gift it to his servants, to help make their Christmas bright; and also to show your appreciation for a year's work - kind of like the modern Christmas Bonus!

The idea originated, partially, because servants had to wait on their employers and their guests all day long on Christmas Day -- cleaning, cooking, serving, receiving guests, taking coats, stabling the horses, etc. etc. etc.!  So the grateful employers would fill a box the following day full of all kinds of wonderful things such as left-over cakes, pies, meats and treats; to old clothes and household items that had been replaced by new items. The servants would then take these boxes home to their families and celebrate their Christmas on Boxing Day.  That's only one variation of this very old tradition but it is a particularly nice and generous one.  Other versions include people going door-to-door to the homes of rich people on Boxing Day, carrying with them their own box, in the hopes of receiving any bits and bobs that the abundant households might no longer need and were happy to pass on to the less fortunate. Or sometimes, the wealthy would make a day of it and gather as a group to go about to the homes of those in need, or to their servants, and drop the goodies off themselves ... remember Bob Cratchitt's turkey!

I received a nice big cardboard box this year from out-of-town relatives filled with lovely Christmas gifts. I was just about to recycle it when I decided that, while I don't have any servants (more's the pity), I'm going to fill the box with items around the house and take it to our local Salvation Army or hospital charity shop.  And maybe I better leave out some wee offerings to the fairy folk; for my brownies and house elves, and also those industrious little garden gnomes who perform many important tasks around the Grove!