Happy Petticoat Day!

It's funny how the little sayings and phrases that your parents say tend to stick inyour memory.

One of the things my mum used to say when I was little came to mind this morning...

First of May, Petticoat Day!

Which is something I've often found myself repeating at this time of year, usually to very blank looks.

An extensive Google search on variations of the phrase turned up almost nothing, so I emailed my Mum to check that she did actually say it, and what it meant.

"All I recall is that as a little girl the little boys would shout it and lift up your skirt. I am not sure of the tradition. Maybe we just had a weird lot of boys at my school."

Indeed. So maybe just a pre-pubescent excuse for young boys to get a glance at girls petticoats. But there are just enough mentions on Google to suggest it was more than just a custom limited to my mum's school.

So, any recollections or memories of this? As a lifelong admirer of petticoats, I'd hate to see this time-honoured tradition die out!