“In a paper belonging to the Spectator there is a short description of a country wake. "I found," says the author, "a ring of cudgel-players, who were breaking one another's heads in order to make some impression on their mistresses' hearts."…to this he adds another curious pastime, as a kind of Christmas gambol, which he had seen also; that is, a yawning match for a Cheshire cheese; the sport began about midnight, when the whole company were disposed to be drowsy; and he that yawned the widest, and at the same time most naturally, so as to produce the greatest number of yawns from the spectators, obtained the cheese.”

pg. 369
The Sports and Pastimes of the People of England (1801), Country wakes

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Joseph Strutt65

British engraver, artist, antiquary and writer 1749–1802

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pg. 360
The Sports and Pastimes of the People of England (1801), Bonfires

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Joseph Strutt65

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