Cheese Rolling Explainer ?

What is Cheese Rolling ? Cheese-Rolling is an annual event held on the Spring Bank Holiday at Cooper&Hill, near Gloucester in England. Participants race down the 200-yard or 180 meter long hill after a round of Double Gloucester cheese is sent rolling down it. This ceremony originally took place each Whit Monday, but was later moved to the Spring Bank Holiday. The first written evidence of cheese rolling is found in a message written to the Gloucester town crier in 1826 even then it was apparent that the event was an old tradition, and it is believed to be at least six hundred years old. The cheese currently used in the event is 9 pound or 4-kilogram Double Gloucester, a hard cheese traditionally made in a circular shape. Each is protected for the rolling by a wooden casing round the side, and is decorated with ribbons at the start of the race. Formerly, three cheeses were presented by parishioners, and the cheeses were usually rolled by them. A collection is usually made now to...