You’re nicked – for eating a mince pie on Christmas Day

We love these daft laws sent to us in a press release from a firm of solicitors

• Think twice before tucking into a mince pie on Christmas day. The most outrageous law revealed for the festive season: ‘mince pies cannot be eaten on Christmas day’. So, will we all have to stay clear of the mince pies on Christmas day?
• Be carefully when you’re sending out your Christmas cards as “it is an act of treason to place a postage stamp bearing the British Monarch upside down”.
• If you’re catching a cab home after the Christmas party don’t be surprised to hear the cab driver ask you if you have the plague. “Cab drivers must ask all passengers if they have small pox or the plague”.
• Watch out for this over the Christmas period ‘In London, Freemen are allowed to take a flock of sheep across London Bridge without being charged a toll; they are also allowed to drive geese down Cheapside.’
• Don’t forget your archery practice on Christmas Day! ‘In England, all men over the age of 14 must carry out two hours of longbow practice a day.’
• “In Scotland, it is illegal to be drunk in possession of a cow”, so don’t take your cow out on the town to celebrate Hogmanay.

David Green, CEO of MTA Solicitors explains, “Many of these by-laws were created centuries ago and although the law books do get reviewed some of these laws have simply never been repealed, even though they have completely lost their relevance in today’s society.”

The rule on eating mince pies actually stemmed from Oliver Cromwell who passed a law to ban Christmas pudding, mince pies and anything to do with gluttony. That law has never been repealed, so it’s true that mince pies are, in fact, illegal.

If Oliver Cromwell had had his way Christmas wouldn’t happen at all, as he banned Christmas between 1647 and 1660 because he believed such celebrations were immoral for the holiest day of the year.

Green concludes, “The truth is you’re not actually going to land yourself in trouble by indulging in a mince pies this Christmas, neither will you be held in the Tower of London for mistakenly sticking a stamp on upside down. However I would advise people out enjoying themselves over the Christmas period to ensure they know how to keep their behaviour within legal boundaries, so that they don’t find themselves in trouble over the holiday period.”

Tags: Entertainment & food