Sunday 23rd December, gather 6.45 for 7pm vigil in the street by the shrine at the gates in Redcross Way
The 175th Vigil, held on the 23rd of every single month since 23rd June 2004 – to remember the outcast, dead and alive, to renew the shrine at the gates and to reclaim the secret history of Crossbones as revealed by The Goose to John Crow on 23rd November 1996.
We each bring our own piece of the puzzle, and together we perform acts of remembrance and imagination, secular Human Rites, open to ‘all faiths and none’. Specific vigils are aligned with seasonal festivals – e.g. January 23rd is Imbolc, April 23rd is St George, June 23rd is St John’s Eve / midsummer, October 23rd is Halloween Portal, November 23rd is ‘Goose Night’.
At the 23rd December Vigil we mark the winter solstice and the coming of the light, Yule – and Christmas, with lusty singing of traditional carols and sharing of tasty treats. Come prepared to join in with such classics as ‘Deck The Halls’, ‘I Saw Three Ships’, ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ and ‘We Wish You A Happy Christmas’. Yuletide and other seasonal songs are also welcome, especially if they’re easy for everyone to join in.
Please bring your own mementos or ribbons with the names of your lost loved ones to tie to the gates. You might also like to offer a short poem, song or personal testimony to the spirits of Crossbones Graveyard. Or be a ‘Goose Rhapsode’, learning part of ‘The Book of the Goose’ or another short poem from The Southwark Mysteries to recite on the night.
FREE. Donations welcome
