
The History of the Marshfield Mummers (1999) - fanf2
https://knightstoves.wordpress.com/history/
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ilamont
Thanks for sharing this. Another obscure (to me) British cultural reference by
the band XTC now becomes clear.

Such traditions can be fragile things. The casual nature of the performance
("They only meet to rehearse about twenty minutes before leaving the church
hall every Boxing day") is both a blessing and a curse - easy to learn and
share with new participants, but also easy to skip which is what apparently
happened in the 1880s.

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gnufx
A more recent Indy record, by Young Knives, has Whittlesea Straw Bear on the
cover, and there must be other folk custom references in rock genres,
especially Green Man, I guess.

You don't need much rehearsal for a single script after a few years, except
for the topical ad-libs, and you traditionally consult the correct words
written on the props -- not to be taken too seriously!

Most English (and maybe other) folk customs had died out by the end of the
19th century. Then even the early revival groups were wiped out in the First
World War, particularly as they tended to join up together. That's been
poignant in recent centennials.

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gnufx
In comes I, Knight George, to say how splendid to see mumming on the front
page. Resources for anyone interested:
[https://folkplay.info/](https://folkplay.info/) and
[http://www.mastermummers.org/](http://www.mastermummers.org/).

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jkmcf
Not 100% related, but Philadelphia has a Mummers parade every New Year’s which
is, IMNSHO, the best US parade. Pity it is always colder than a witch’s
teat...

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gnufx
Yes, definitely not British Isles mumming (which doubtless happens in North
America, probably connected with morris sides, who are often very good). It's
interesting to see the folk custom, though.

