JANUARY 6
Residents of the North Carolina Outer Banks are an independent bunch. People determined enough to withstand being bashed regularly by storms, to handle the destruction of roads, and to coax a living from an uncooperative sea tend not to put up with nonsense.
In 1752, when the English adopted the Georgian calendar, the isolated settlers didn’t hear about it for many years, writes Elizabeth Wiegand in The Outer Banks Cookbook: Recipes and Traditions from North Carolina’s Barrier Islands. When they did find out, they preferred to continue celebrating Old Christmas, also called Epiphany, as they always had.
Today, Christmas Day is for families and Old Christmas is a community celebration with a reputation for rowdiness that has been toned down. There are shooting contests, costume parades, and an appearance by Old Buck, a bull that according to legend ran wild on the islands, frightening everyone. Islanders make a costume from a cow skull and blankets so that Old Buck can run amok once again and pump up the party.
At one time, swans (called “white turkey”) were on the menu. But oysters have always been at the center of Old Christmas celebrations. Sometimes being stubborn is a good thing.