Jack On The Green

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

1- 8 1s dance in and cast to 2nd place, 1s cast again and lead up between 3s to face 2s
9-16 2s+1s set facing each other, set to partners, 1s+3s set facing each other, set to partners and 1s passing LSh face 1st corners
17-24 1s turn 1st corners RH, turn Partner LH, turn 2nd corners RH and partner LH to 2nd place own sides
25-32 2s+1s+3s circle 6H round and back

(MINICRIB. Dance crib compiled by Charles Upton, Deeside Caledonian Society, and his successors)

Keith Rose's Crib Diagram

Jack On The Green - Full Size And Key To Symbols

Dance Information

A version appears in a 1740 Scottish manuscript associated with country dances performed in Scotland. Variants of the title include "Jack on the Green", "Jack o' the Green", and "Jack in the Green".

The title closely resembles the traditional British folkloric figure "Jack-in-the-Green", associated with spring and May Day festivities. That character was known in Britain during the 18th century, making this the most likely origin of the dance title.

However, no known surviving contemporary source explicitly states that the dance was named after the May Day figure. It is therefore reasonable to say that the title probably refers to the folkloric tradition, but this cannot presently be proven with certainty.

"Jack-in-the-Green" was a traditional British May Day and spring festival figure, usually portrayed as a person covered in foliage within a wicker or wooden framework.

The custom became especially associated with chimney sweeps and May Day processions during the 18th and 19th centuries. Modern folklorists generally consider the tradition to have developed in the 18th century, although earlier writers sometimes claimed it preserved older pre-Christian customs.

Engraving Of A Jack In The Green, Perhaps By Isaac Cruikshank, c. 1795

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