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Bottle-Kicking

Teams try to move a small keg containing ale across fields to streams which are located one mile apart, moving it by any means possible.

Bottle-kicking is an old English game that is played in the village of Hallaton every year on Easter Monday. The game which is continued to be played till date has records of being played as far back as the late 18th century.



There are no restrictions on the number of players on a team. There are absolutely no rules that are enforced for bottle-kicking. Some of the strictly prohibited actions are eye-gouging, strangling, and use of weapons. The game is extremely physical and rough in which teams fight to move the bottles over obstacles like hedges, ditches, and barbed wire. It is very common to see people with broken bones and other injuries.

The game starts in the early afternoon, with the hare pie being spread on the ground at the top of Hare Pie Bank. The bottles used are actually small kegs or barrels containing ale. The bottle is then tossed into the air three times. The third time the bottle falls on to the ground signals the start of the game. Teams then try to move the bottle across fields to streams which are located one mile apart. The bottle can be moved by any means possible.



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