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The Mummers Parade has been a Philadelphia, PA New Year’s
Day tradition since 1901. Since then, it has become one of the most popular TV
programs on New Year’s Day, and the parade is viewed by of thousands people who
attend in person. People across the country and around the world watch the
parade on television. It is the longest-running folk parade in the United States.
But how did this parade of music performances and colorful costumes get its start?
As it turns out, it was formed out of practices of various cultures who
immigrated to Philadelphia in the 1700s, including Celtic cultures!
In Celtic culture, mumming was a staple of Samhain and
contributed to the origins of modern-day Halloween. In Ireland, people would go
door-to-door, reciting poems and singing songs in exchange for nuts, apples,
and money for fireworks. False Faces in Scotland was similar. Young men would walk
through the streets, carrying turnip lanterns and singing songs. Mummers went
from door to door on Samhain in Brittany, singing songs. People would give them
money because if they did not, they would have bad luck.
Mumming also has roots in the Celtic traditions of the winter holidays. In Wales, the Mari Lwyd is a tradition where men carry a skeletal horse house-to-house and have poetry and rap contests in the Welsh language and sing songs. In Ireland and the Isle of Mann, men dress up in mummers costumes and go door-to-door, acting out the hunting of a wren and singing songs. They would carry the wren through the streets of the town, still singing songs.
However, the closest connection Philadelphia's Mummers have may be to the mummers at Hogmanay in Scotland. On Hogmanay, Scotland's New Year's celebrations, a small group of people would go around to loved ones' houses, chanting songs such as "Auld Lang Syne."
When immigrants came to the United States in the 1700s, they brought several customs from their home countries. When the Celtic customs mixed with other cultures, in Philadelphia in the case of the Mummers, the annual New Year’s Day parade came about. Today, the Mummers are broken into different classifications, depending on their performance style and instruments used (if any). They dress up in colorful and elaborate costumes, with each group choosing a theme to perform to. The groups of Mummers compete within their classification for whose performance was best that year. The Mummers groups work all year on the performances and in many cases, there are several generations of families who participate and have participated through past years.
Related Articles:
-Hogmanay: https://kiltedowl.blogspot.com/2024/12/hogmanay.html
-St. Stephen's Day/Boxing Day: https://kiltedowl.blogspot.com/2024/12/boxing-dayst-stephens-day.html
-Celtic Christmas Celebrations: https://kiltedowl.blogspot.com/2024/12/celtic-christmas-celebrations.html
-Samhain: https://kiltedowl.blogspot.com/2024/11/samhain.html