The French magazine Le Charivari was first published in 1832, but only lasted five years. (Punch was founded in 1841.) The charivari is a folk custom, once popular throughout Europe, in which a mock parade is staged through a town or village to shame one or more people who are perceived to have done wrong. The victim(s) would often be dragged from their home or place of work, and pelted with missiles; alternatively they may have been represented in effigy. The parade would be accompanied by the sound of pots and pans being beaten, and musical instruments being played as loudly as possible.
In England such events were commonly known as 'rough music'; other names include 'skimmingtons', 'stang riding', and 'loo–belling'.
The word 'charivari' was adopted in North America – with Anglicised variations such as 'shivaree'. It has its origins in the Vulgar Latin word caribaria, which itself referred to the custom of rattling kitchenware with metal implements. Its ultimate derivation is from a Greek word for a headache! (Karēbaría – literally 'heavy–headedness'.)
Wikipedia gives several examples of charivaris in literature and art – the best–known of which (to me at least!) is in Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge.
© Haydn Thompson 2021–3