Scotland/Scots > Reminiscences of a Highland parish

THE COMMUNION SUNDAY.
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stranger, on the Communion Sunday I am describ¬
ing, whether the fact of so many people coming
from such great distances might not be a tempta¬
tion to some to indulge overmuch when “taking
refreshments.” The reply by one who knew them
well was, “ No, sir, not one man will go home in
a state unbecoming a Christian.”
The sentiment of gratitude was, naturally
enough, often repeated :—“ Oh ! thank God for
such a fine day!” For weather is an element
which necessarily enters into every calculation of
times and seasons in the Highlands. If the day
is stormy, the old and infirm cannot come up
to this annual feast, nor can brother clergymen
voyage from distant Island Parishes to assist at
it. Why, in the time of the old minister, he had
to send a man on horseback over moors, and
across stormy arms of the sea, for sixty miles, to
get the wheaten bread used at the Communion !
And for this reason, while the Communion is dis¬
pensed in smaller parishes and in towns every six
months, and sometimes every quarter, it has
hitherto been only celebrated once a year in most
Highland Parishes. At such seasons, however,