DID you know that if you ate mince pies over the festive period you were breaking the law?

This one of the more outrageous law that has never been repealed but a firm of solicitors has revealed lesser known breaches of the law.

Were you, for example, careful when you sent out your Christmas cards as ‘it is an act of treason to place a postage stamp bearing the British Monarch upside down’.

If you were catching a cab home after the Christmas party did the cab driver ask you if you have the plague? Apparently, cab drivers must ask all passengers if they have small pox or the plague.

And did you remember to have your archery practice on Christmas Day? In England, all men over the age of 14 must carry out two hours of longbow practice a day.

David Green, CEO of MTA Solicitors said: “Many of these by-laws were created centuries ago and although the law books do get reviewed some of these laws have simply never been repealed, even though they have completely lost their relevance in today’s society.”

The rule on eating mince pies actually stemmed from Oliver Cromwell who passed a law to ban Christmas pudding, mince pies and anything to do with gluttony.

That law has never been repealed, so it’s true that mince pies are in fact illegal. If Oliver Cromwell had had his way Christmas would not happen at all, as he banned Christmas between 1647 and 1660 because he believed such celebrations were immoral for the holiest day of the year.

Mr Green added: “The truth is you’re not actually going to land yourself in trouble by indulging in mince pies this Christmas, neither will you be held in the Tower of London for mistakenly sticking a stamp on upside down."