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Heavy, heavy hangover thy poor head

Posted by Smokey Stover on September 27, 2008 at 18:05

In Reply to: Heavy, heavy hangover thy poor head posted by Sherrelle on September 27, 2008 at 06:37:

: My family does the same "heavy, heavy hangover thy poor head, what do you wish with a bump on the head" for every Birthday. (Everyone will say it together, except the birthday person.) It is strange, but it does slow everyone down at gift giving time. It gives the gift giver and everyone else a chance to see the gift, and it is fun to see what funny (or serious, cute, etc.) thing that the receiver will wish you. It has always made the birthday person feel more special. I am happy that my Mom had started this tradition in our family, and even happier to find out that someone else out there had at least heard of it.

Did your Mom play Forfeits as a youngster?

It's played by a group of children, each of whom places some personal article (clothing, like a sock or a belt, or possibly a bit of costume jewelry, etc.) in a pile. These are the forfeits. Someone is chosen judge, and another player holds over his head one of the forfeits. This player says;

"Heavy, heavy hangs over thy head.
What shall the owner do to redeem the forfeit?"

The judge then requires the owner of the article to perform some silly stunt. (The Website listed below offers a list of possible stunts.)

There may be more than one way to play the game, but no doubt they are all similar to the description given at:

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