A Strange Church Feastday

Celebrated anytime between Christmas and Epiphany (6th Jan), particularly on the 1st of Jan- the Feast of the Circumsion of Our Lord, the Feast of Fools had some very strange Church custome to go along with it....

• Priest and clargy wearing masks at Divine Office
• Clergy dancing in the sanctuary dressed as women and minstrels
• Clergy eating sausages at the altar while the celebrant is saying Mass
• Incense with vile incense made from filthy old shoe soles
• Singing the Chants of the day with screeches and nonsense syllables
• singing from upside down service books
• blowing ashes from the censer around the church
• wearing torn or inside-out vestments
• runnning and leaping shamelessly through the church
• During Mass, a donkey was brought into the church and led to the altar.
• During the Mass, the Introit, Kyrie, Gloria and Credo ended with donkey brays, and instead of the dismissal, the priest was directed to bray 3 times (ter hinhinnabit) with the congregation braying in response!

After Mass, the Clergy ran through the town.....

• in carts, making indecent gestures
• reciting scurrilous and lewd verses to the derision of all
• Pelting the people with excrement
• clanging kettles, saucepans and bells,
• Humorous plays and shows were put on by the people

At Vespers....

• During the Magnificat verse " And he hath put down the mighty...", an elected Boy-Bishop was put on the Bishop's throne, and dressed in full vestments.
• The Boy-Bishop was crowned with 3 buckets of water and a crown of leaves.

The Boy-Bishop/ Lord of Misrule/Abbot of Fools' job was to preside over the ribaldry.

What did Church Authorities have to say about this?