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Advent & Christmas

Day 4 of 12 Days of Christmas: Four Calling Birds 

By jacksonnhccPosted on Posted in Advent & Christmas, Home, Weekly MeditationsTagged , , , , , ,

Birds sing after a storm; why shouldn’t people feel as free to delight in whatever remains to them? — Rose Kennedy 

Keep a green tree in your heart and perhaps a singing bird will come.  — Proverb 

Be as a bird perched on a frail branch that she feels bending beneath her, still she sings away all the same, knowing she has wings. — Victor Hugo

Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly. — Langston Hughes

I’d rather teach one bird to sing than ten thousand stars how not to dance. — e. e. cummings

SONGS about SONGBIRDS and BLACKBIRDS:

Songbird— John Brehm

Even though I have not seen it,
I know how it could be,
how when the skylark flees
from a falcon’s quick pursuit,

it will turn sometimes, and begin
to sing, as if to say, “Being
eaten by the falcon is the last thing
in the world I’m worried about.

You cannot catch me, Tra, la,la.
I’ve got breath enough to to waste
on a song like this, which you
may as well enjoy before I vanish

into air.” And the raptor knows
it’s true, knows that anyone
foolish enough to sing in such
a circumstance is quite beyond

ever being caught, and that for all
his hunger he’ll be given just
a song, tumbling through the air,
as the body he desires disappears.

CALLING BIRDS

The calling birds of day 4 are the most intersting to me as the original said ‘colly birds’ and subsequent variants said the birds were ‘canary’, ‘collie’, ‘colley’, ‘colour’d’, ‘curley’, ‘coloured’, ‘corley’, and finally ‘calling’ by Austin in 1909 published with his new tune. I am surprised no one ever suggested ‘collared’. The original ‘colly bird’ was the European Blackbird (Turdus merula) as ‘colly’ meant ‘black’ as in ‘coaly’, and is why border collies bear that name. The subsequent versions are undoubtedly the result of mis-hearings and misinterpretations. — Bob Montgomerie

WHAT ARE the 4 CALLING BIRDS? Probably Not What You Think. — Matthew L. Miller, full article: https://blog.nature.org/science/2021/12/14/what-are-the-4-calling-birds-probably-not-what-you-think/

Changing Lyrics

“Twelve Days” was first published in 1780, but it existed as an oral tradition long before that. And even after it was published, the song was most often just passed down from generation to generation.
Over time, lyrics change.

In the original published version, it’s “4 colly birds” not “4 calling birds.” In England at the time, “colly birds” was a name given to blackbirds. I’ll delve into this a bit more in a moment. The other reality is that the song has just changed to better fit the times. While traditionalists never want to hear this, popular songs, stories and holidays shift and morph through the years.

Earlier versions of “Twelve Days” included some completely different lyrics, including “bears a baiting.” This referenced the then popular “sport” of tying up a bear, then having fighting dogs attempt to maim and kill it. Obviously, this would today be considered a holiday buzzkill.

As the term “colly bird” became unfamiliar to listeners, it’s natural they would replace it with the more familiar “calling birds.” It has a nice ring to it even if it’s a big vague.

However, the original version of “colly birds” – a gift of blackbirds – raises its own questions.World’s Worst Party Trick

As impractical as it may be, a gift of 7 swans undeniably carries a bit of romance to it. Four blackbirds? Not so much. Why would this be in the song?

The blackbird (Turdus merula) is a common thrush in England and Europe. As a folk song-worthy gift, it might not be as weird as it first appears. After all, this gift could be turned into a pie.

Remember the nursery rhyme? “Sing a song of sixpence, a pocketful of rye, four and 20 blackbirds baked in a pie. When the pie was opened, the birds began to sing. Now wasn’t that a dainty dish to set before a king?”

This nursery rhyme itself may have hidden political meanings, but it also illuminates an actual royal fad: live blackbird pie. Yes, this was a thing.

As naturalist Jim Hurley points out, at one point it was a big hit to hide a bunch of live songbirds under a pie crust, then serve it at a banquet.

As Hurley writes, “The creation was carried to the table, the outer crust of the pie was opened and to the delight of the assembled guests the birds flew out calling as they escaped from their confinement within the outer pastry casing.” Please don’t try this at home.Eating Blackbirds

“Colly birds” most commonly refers to blackbirds, but it can also be a catch-all term for any small songbirds. Songbirds, including blackbirds, would have been a common menu item at the time of the song’s origin.

Four colly birds would not have made much of meal, to be sure. But thrushes were often eaten whole, bones and all. Sometimes they were baked in a pie.

If this seems strange or gross, consider this: Songbirds are still extensively hunted for food in many parts of the world. Songbirds migrating from Europe to North Africa face a gauntlet of guns and traps, especially in the Mediterranean region.

According to an article in The Guardian, between 11 million to 36 million songbirds are killed or captured in Mediterranean countries each year. In Italy, where some 5 million songbirds are poached annually, people use live birds as decoys to lure various songbird species into elaborate nets and other traps.

Birds are hunted in these countries for food, for the market and for sport. They are also hunted because it is a tradition. But traditions, like holiday songs, can and do change. The hunting of songbirds presents a tremendous threat to these species. Bird advocates are working to end this carnage. Perhaps one route – being taken in countries like Lebanon – is working with hunters to develop limits and ban destructive practices. This would allow a small, sustainable take, and continue traditions, much as “gamebirds” are managed….

How Many Birds Are in the 12 Days of Christmas? – Answered — Clinton Atkins for Thayer Birding, full article:https://www.thayerbirding.com/how-many-birds-are-in-the-12-days-of-christmas/

… If you grew up listening to and singing it, have you counted how many birds are in the 12 Days of Christmas? Yes, it’s six types of birds, appearing multiple times in the song.

… The 12 Days of Christmas is a Christmas carol that is said to have originated in England. It is believed that 12 days represent 12 Catholic tenets of faith, and the carol was used in catechism by early Catholics in England who could not openly practice their faith and are avoiding prosecution.

Regardless of its real origin, the 12 Days of Christmas song is already interesting on its own because of its lyrics. The song is about someone’s true love giving numerous … Christmas gifts in a span of 12 days….

The Birds Mentioned in 12 Days of Christmas

  1. Partridge
  2. Turtle Dove
  3. French Hen
  4. Calling bird or Colly Bird
  5. Geese
  6. Swans

About Four Calling Birds — Clinton Atkins for Thayer Birding, full article: https://www.thayerbirding.com/what-are-four-calling-birds/
Fact#1: The history of lyrical revisions.

Considering how long ago the year 1780 was, the 12 days of Christmas lyrics have undergone numerous changes over time in an effort to appeal to more people. While some historians believe that the lyrics are French in origin, the song was first seen in the English children’s book written by Mirth With-out Mischief.

But In this modern day, the famous and familiar lyrics we often hear were written in 1909 by an English writer named Frederic Austin. Included in his revisions are the changing of “4 colly birds” to “4 calling birds” and the rhythm of “five go-old rings.”

Along with 3 french hens, the five golden rings’ lyrics are also believed to initially relate to the necks of ring-necked pheasants rather than actual rings, continuing the song’s motif of feasting on calling birds Christmas.Fact#2: The four Gospels

The famous Christmas carol is initially intended as a romantic “memory-and-forfeit” game in England for British children to play in order to test their retention.

But from 1558 to 1829, practicing Catholicism in the said country was considered a crime. Thus, the carol was also believed to be Christian’s way of learning the tenets of their religion. Accordingly, the four calling birds symbolize the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, which remind the people that God sent Jesus as the world’s savior.Fact#3: The meaning behind “colly.”

The term “collie” or “colly” from its original lyrics has a definition of black as coal and was used as an English slang word that translates to blackbirds.

But why was the blackbird chosen for this song? This is simply because a blackbird (Turdus merula) is a common passerine in the land of Europe and England. However, the original version could also have a meaning as a “gift of blackbirds.”In this sense, the blackbirds would be perfect as a gift ideas to be served as a meal (all including its bones) or as a pie that can bring delight to the table.Fact#4: The sound of 4 calling birds.

Roundheads and pointed wings characterize blackbirds. They have black plumage with a touch of yellow on their eyes and beaks. Most importantly, these calling birds sound will entice you with their “strangled” low and melodic, and beautiful songs.

THRUSHES — Siegfried Sassoon 

Tossed on the glittering air they soar and skim,   

Whose voices make the emptiness of light   

A windy palace. Quavering from the brim   

Of dawn, and bold with song at edge of night,   

They clutch their leafy pinnacles and sing   

Scornful of man, and from his toils aloof

Whose heart’s a haunted woodland whispering;   

Whose thoughts return on tempest-baffled wing;   

Who hears the cry of God in everything,   

And storms the gate of nothingness for proof.

BLACKBIRD ETUDE—  A.E. Stallings 

For Craig

The blackbird sings at

the frontier of his music.

The branch where he sat

marks the brink of doubt,

is the outpost of his realm,

edge from which to rout

encroachers with trills

and melismatic runs sur-

passing earthbound skills.

It sounds like ardor,

it sounds like joy. We are glad

here at the border

where he signs the air

with his invisible staves,

“Trespassers beware”—

Song as survival—

a kind of pure music which

we cannot rival.

Day 3 of 12 Days of Christmas: French Hens

By jacksonnhccPosted on Posted in Advent & Christmas, Home, Weekly MeditationsTagged , , ,

What happens to me when I cross the Piscataqua and plunge rapidly into Maine at a cost of seventy-five cents in tolls? I cannot describe it. I do not ordinarily spy a partridge in a pear tree, or three French hens, but I do have the sensation of having received a gift from a true love. And when, five hours later, I dip down across the Narramissic and look back at the tiny town of Orland, the white spire of its church against the pale-red sky stirs me in a way that Chartres could never do. It was the Narramissic that once received as fine a lyrical tribute as was ever paid to a river—a line in a poem by a schoolboy, who wrote of it, ‘It flows through Orland every day.’ I never cross that mild stream without thinking of his testimonial to the constancy, the dependability of small, familiar rivers. — E. B. White

SONGS about HENS and CHICKENS:

The Hens — Elzabeth Madox Roberts

The night was coming very fast;
It reached the gate as I ran past.

The pigeons had gone to the tower of the church
And all the hens were on their perch,

Up in the barn, and I thought I heard
A piece of a little purring word.

I stopped inside, waiting and staying,
To try to hear what the hens were saying.

They were asking something, that was plain,
Asking it over and over again.

One of them moved and turned around,
Her feathers made a ruffled sound,

A ruffled sound, like a bushful of birds,
And she said her little asking words.

She pushed her head close into her wing,
But nothing answered anything.

Symbolism of French Hens — Darlene from Bonjour blog, full article: https://bonjourdarlene.com/2018/11/16/three-french-hens/

One belief is that the lyric from the popular Christmas carol refers to docile Faverolles, a French breed of chicken that is a favorite with young children because they make good pets.

But there are other theories. According to Catholic Straight Answers, the three hens “signify both the gifts of the Magi (gold, frankincense, and myrrh), and the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity.”

About French Hens — Bob Montgomerie from American Ornothological Society: (full article:https://americanornithology.org/three-french-hens/)

… The song originated in an 18th century memory game, celebrating an annual period of drunkenness and merrymaking sandwiched between two religious feasts. Many of those twelve days are about birds that were prized for the table. In mediaeval England, this period following Christmas was presided over by the Lord of Misrule and in Scotland by the Abbott of Unreason …

… On day 2, the TURTLE DOVES were French hens in one 1877 version, and the FRENCH HENS on day 3 were once ‘fat hens’ in 1864, and turtle doves in 1877. There’s a theme here as the first 3 birds were highly prized for the table, an excellent start to a period of feasting.

But why ‘French‘ hens? The Latin word for chicken is gallus and, as a result, the scientific name is Gallus gallus. In Roman times, France was Gaul, and people who lived there were Gallic. It seems that the simple word association between the homonyms Gallus and Gallic irrevocably associated the fowl with France. Indeed, a rooster was often a decorative ornament on church bell towers in France during the Middle Ages, and the Gallic Rooster was an important symbol during the French Revolution.

But also, when the Twelve Days rhyme was written, French hens were a prized table bird in both France and England. The breed Bresse Gauloise, for example, was sometimes called the ‘queen of poultry and the poultry of kings’. This breed originated in France in the late 16th century. La Fleche is also an ancient French breed from the Loire region of western France, and was renowned for its delicate flesh. During the 16th century hens from France were a luxury import from France. In the 19th century, the Houdan, another old breed from west of Paris, was one of the main meat breeds of France, and was imported to North America in 1865…

Day 2 of 12 Days of Christmas: Two Turtledoves

By jacksonnhccPosted on Posted in Advent & Christmas, Home, Weekly MeditationsTagged , ,

The winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtle-dove is heard in our land. — Song of Solomon

Time will work what no man knoweth
Time doth us the subject prove
With time still affection groweth
To the faithful turtledove.
— Sir Philip Sidney

SONGS about TURTLE DOVES:

SONGS about 12 DAYS of CHRISTMAS (comic):

Signs of My Love’s Return — Chris Obiora 

Let two grey turtledoves,
Clapping against the clouds,
On their backs the sun,
Be a symbol of our love.

Let a crumbling moon
In a blue sodden sky
Be a keepsake of sadness
Felt with your goodbye.

And the faithful geese from
Europe’s cold winter turn
Homeward bound to Africa
So will my love soon return.

Turtle doves in culture (full article: https://operationturtledove.org/turtle-doves/turtle-doves-in-culture/)

Turtle doves have featured in art and culture for thousands of years. Their beauty, song and behaviour inspired Ancient Greeks and Romans, Elizabethan poets, modern musicians, and painters. Perhaps because of their endearing, soothing purr and tender affections when seen perched in pairs, they have long been symbols of love…… Turtle doves and weddings are a perfect match: these birds have often had romantic associations, and in poetry they’re usually connected with fidelity and trust.

Roman deity Fides was often pictured holding a turtle dove: she was the goddess of good faith (as in the Latin term bona fide). In Greek mythology, the birds pulled the chariot of Aphrodite, the goddess of love.

Chaucer, in his Parlement of Foules, mentioned “The wedded turtledove with her heart true”…. Turtle doves weren’t just thought of as devoted, monogamous partners. If one of a pair died, the other was believed to mourn, and perhaps never bond with another bird again. Co-ruler of Florence, Giuliano de’ Medici was murdered in 1478, aged 25. A posthumous portrait of him by Botticelli includes a perched turtle dove. It’s said that Medici’s partner commissioned the picture, with the bird representing her, in mourning.

William Shakespeare frequently wrote about turtle doves (sometimes calling them “turtles”), sometimes to symbolise love and devotion:

  • King Henry VI: “a pair of loving turtle-doves that could not live asunder day or night”
  • The Merry Wives of Windsor: “we’ll teach him to know turtles from jays”
  • The Taming of the Shrew: “O slow-winged turtle, shall a buzzard take thee”
  • Troilus and Cressida: “As sun to day, as turtle to her mate”
  • The Winter’s Tale: “So turtles pair, that never mean to part” and “I, an old turtle, Will wing me to some withered bough and there, My mate, that’s never to be found again, Lament till I am lost.”
  • Spring and Winter (a poem): “When turtles tread, and rooks, and daws, And maidens bleach their summer smocks”
    Shakespeare also wrote “The Phoenix and the Turtle”, a poem which was published in 1601. It’s about the funeral of the phoenix and the turtle dove, who were lovers. The poem has been interpreted as an allegory about the death of ideal love, referencing people of Shakespeare’s time including Elizabeth I, or a cryptic eulogy to Catholic martyrs.

Other writers inspired by turtle doves include Anne Bronte, Carol Ann Duffy and Edgar Allen Poe.

Turtle doves are still a symbol of affection today. Cockney rhyming slang also adopted “turtle dove” to mean love (and also “glove”). And in a touching scene in Home Alone 2, released in 1992, Kevin presents one of his turtle dove ornaments to the Bird Lady, saying that as they have one each, they’ll be friends forever…

The Phoenix and the Turtle

—William Shakespeare
 

Let the bird of loudest lay

On the sole Arabian tree

Herald sad and trumpet be,

To whose sound chaste wings obey.

But thou shrieking harbinger,

Foul precurrer of the fiend,

Augur of the fever’s end,

To this troop come thou not near.

From this session interdict

Every fowl of tyrant wing,

Save the eagle, feather’d king;

Keep the obsequy so strict.

Let the priest in surplice white,

That defunctive music can,

Be the death-divining swan,

Lest the requiem lack his right.

And thou treble-dated crow,

That thy sable gender mak’st

With the breath thou giv’st and tak’st,

‘Mongst our mourners shalt thou go.

Here the anthem doth commence:

Love and constancy is dead;

Phoenix and the Turtle fled

In a mutual flame from hence.

So they lov’d, as love in twain

Had the essence but in one;

Two distincts, division none:

Number there in love was slain.

Hearts remote, yet not asunder;

Distance and no space was seen

‘Twixt this Turtle and his queen:

But in them it were a wonder.

So between them love did shine

That the Turtle saw his right

Flaming in the Phoenix’ sight:

Either was the other’s mine.

Property was thus appalled

That the self was not the same;

Single nature’s double name

Neither two nor one was called.

Reason, in itself confounded,

Saw division grow together,

To themselves yet either neither,

Simple were so well compounded;

That it cried, “How true a twain

Seemeth this concordant one!

Love has reason, reason none,

If what parts can so remain.”

Whereupon it made this threne

To the Phoenix and the Dove,

Co-supremes and stars of love,

As chorus to their tragic scene:

                 threnos

Beauty, truth, and rarity,

Grace in all simplicity,

Here enclos’d, in cinders lie.

Death is now the Phoenix’ nest,

And the Turtle’s loyal breast

To eternity doth rest,

Leaving no posterity:

‘Twas not their infirmity,

It was married chastity.

Truth may seem but cannot be;

Beauty brag but ’tis not she;

Truth and beauty buried be.

To this urn let those repair

That are either true or fair;

For these dead birds sigh a prayer.

The Turtle Dove — James Casey

O can’t you see yon little turtle dove
Sitting under the China Berry tree?
See how that she does mourn for her true love:
And I will mourn for thee

O God speed, my little turtle dove,
And fare thee well for a-while;
But though I go I’ll surely come again,
If I go ten thousand mile,

Ten thousand mile is very far away,
For you to return to me,
You leave me here to carry on,
My tears you will not see.

The crow that’s black, my little turtle dove,
Shall change its color white;
Before I’m false to the woman I love,
The noon-day shall be night.

The hills shall fly, my little turtle dove,
The sun will fade away
Before my heart shall suffer me to fail,
Cause I will return by Friday

Day 1 of 12 Days of Christmas: Partridge Meditation

By jacksonnhccPosted on Posted in Advent & Christmas, Weekly MeditationsTagged ,

On Partridges

What is a country without rabbits and partridges? They are among the most simple and indigenous animal products; ancient and venerable families known to antiquity as to modern times; of the very hue and substance of Nature, nearest allied to leaves and to the ground.— Henry David Thoreau

If the partridge didn’t call at the wrong moment, Neither the hunter nor the falcon would know of it. It follows from this point also, That everyone’s voice betrays him.— Rahman Baba

No clouds are in the morning sky,
The vapors hug the stream,
Who says that life and love can die
In all this northern gleam?
At every turn the maples burn,
The quail is whistling free,
The partridge whirs, and the frosted burs
Are dropping for you and me…
— Edmund Clarence Stedman (poem excerpt)

On Pear Trees

She was stretched on her back beneath the pear tree soaking in the alto chant of the visiting bees, the gold of the sun and the panting breath of the breeze when the inaudible voice of it all came to her. She saw a dust-bearing bee sink into the sanctum of a bloom; the thousand sister-calyxes arch to meet the love embrace and the ecstatic shiver of the tree from root to tiniest branch creaming in every blossom and frothing with delight — Zora Neale Hurston

Whatever you do, do it gently and unhurriedly, because virtue is not a pear to be eaten in one bite. — Seraphim of Sarov

A man watches his pear-tree day after day, impatient for the ripening of the fruit. Let him attempt to force the process, and he may spoil both fruit and tree. But let him patiently wait, and the ripe pear at length falls into his lap. — Abraham LincolnOh to be a pear tree – any tree in bloom! With kissing bees singing of the beginning of the world! — Zora Neale Hurston

Do not ask your children to strive for extraordinary lives. Such striving may seem admirable, but it is the way of foolishness. Help them instead to find the wonder and the marvel of an ordinary life. Show them the joy of tasting tomatoes, apples and pears. Show them how to cry when pets and people die. Show them the infinite pleasure in the touch of a hand. And make the ordinary come alive for them. The extraordinary will take care of itself. — William Martin

SONGS about PARTRIDGES:

Sage Fright — Freddie Robinson Jr

I’m a-starting to
*pavo tremble this time of year
From all of the oven symbols rack-et
I hear I’m a seasoned Mestizo pheasant,
best strutting actress
in the whole Oaxaca alfalfa field

But I’m beginning to feel
a bite unpleasant,
putting on my best plumage dress
Nervously a-wait
the cleaver
applause build

Henpeck been the best partridge breeder,
top ingenue impresario
Now it’s curtain time
to have a successor,
exit thru the oven door
I see the buy-peddles
turning on the kitchen light

And platter shadows
is giving me bye sage fright
No more starlet
gobble time in the summer day breeze
End of peacock pantomime
under those chestnut trees

Sage fright is real grouse,
as grouse real can be
But, Ms. Guajolote is gon disorderly peck-y,
strut into the Usher house —
Go out in a blade of glory!

Get some carving satisfaction,
when my wishbone performance
get the Red Cross salute
Feast table
Heimlich m action,
calculate no glut survival chance

Best snood bow exit route
Go out in a blade of glory!
Be a theatrical proud grouse
As leftovers get cast from the pall
Festive house

Note from poet: This poem was inspired by the great poet, Paul Laurence Dunbar. From his poem, “Soliloquy of a Turkey.”
*Pavo is the Spanish word for “turkey.”

What are the 12 days of Christmas? (full article: https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/christmas-ideas/a29212592/12-days-of-christmas-meaning-facts/)

The “12 Days of Christmas” referenced in the carol reference the 12 days following Christmas, also known as Twelvetide in Christianity. The period begins with the birth of Christ on December 25th and ends with the coming of the Three Wise Men on January 6th, also known as the Epiphany or Three Kings Day. The weeks before Christmas are known as Advent …Is there a hidden meaning behind the “12 Days of Christmas” song?

There’s a theory floating around claiming that during a time when Christians were punished for worshiping openly, “The Twelve Days of Christmas” song was used to secretly pass on the ideology of Christianity. Per this theory, each gift on the list symbolizes a different aspect of the Christian faith:

  • The Partridge in the Pear Tree is Jesus Christ.
  • The 2 Turtle Doves are The Old and New Testaments.
  • The 3 French hens are Faith, Hope and Charity, the theological virtues.
  • The 4 Calling Birds are the four gospels and/or the four evangelists.
  • The 5 Golden Rings are the first five books of the Old Testament.
  • The 6 Geese A-laying are the six days of creation.
  • The 7 Swans A-swimming are the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the seven sacraments.
  • The 8 Maids A-milking are the eight beatitudes.
  • The 9 Ladies Dancing are the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit.
  • The 10 Lords A-leaping are the ten commandments.
  • The 11 Pipers Piping are the eleven faithful apostles.
  • The 12 Drummers Drumming are the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle’s Creed.

But while it is true that the “12 days” reference the days between the birth of Christ and the coming of the Magi, Snopes breaks down the many historical and logistical errors in the “hidden meanings” theory,

Where do the “12 Days of Christmas” lyrics come from? (full article: https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/christmas-ideas/a29212592/12-days-of-christmas-meaning-facts/)

Though some scholars believe that the song is French in origin, the first printed appearance of the song was in the English children’s book Mirth With-out Mischief. If you haven’t heard of it, that’s probably because it was published in 1780. …

In the original lyrics, the “four calling birds” were actually “four colly birds.” The term “colly” is old English slang for blackbirds. In other old versions of the song, the partridge we all know and love is replaced with a “very pretty peacock upon a pear tree.” There’s also a Scottish version that gifts “an Arabian baboon.” It wasn’t until 1909 that British composer Frederic Austin penned the version of the lyrics that we are all familiar with today.

Most historians believe that the Christmas carol started out as a “memory-and-forfeit” game in 1800s England. These types of games were played by British school children and the rules were simple: When it’s your turn, you repeat all the previously sung lyrics and add the next one. If you can’t remember a verse, you owe your opponent a “forfeit,” which was usually a kiss or a piece of candy.

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