The word ‘flit’ is from a Norse word flytja meaning to carry. In Scotland (25th May) and the north of England (after the March hirings) there was an annual ‘Flitting Day’ which reflected both labouring contracts and annual leases on homes. In Scotland in particular, householders, having decided on Candelmas whether to ‘flit’ rather than ‘sit’ needed to remove themselves by noon so that new tenants could move in the same day. It’s difficult to imagine today the confusion of so many townsfolk moving homes on the same day, though possessions would of course have been fewer.
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