January 1st is a day that belongs to the Mummers in Philadelphia. But why? What exactly is a Mummer? How did the parade start?
We've found the answers for you. We interviewed Rusty Martz, president of the board of directors of the Mummers Museum back in , utilized old school research methods and consulted an encyclopedia and read Charles E. Welch Jr.
Dem Golden Slippers. What is a Mummer? The mummers devote an entire year to crafting their costumes, writing their skits and rehearsing their performances. Where does it originate? Mummers have their roots in the past, tracing as far back as ancient Egypt. They're best documented during the medieval period, where the mummers' play was a popular pastime for the poor. There's a wide variety of mummer plays, but they're characterized by big masks and pantomime traditions.
In Europe these mummers would parade around streets, enter random houses and play dice in silence because that's not creepy at all. A drawing from a 14th-century manuscript with an illustration of mummers. As time went on, the mummers began to beg for food or drink from those in the area after performing a skit often satirical or poem. The Mummers Museum shares this "famous Mummers poem":. As we stood the year before;. Give us whisky, give us gin,. Open the door and let us in. How did the tradition spread to Philadelphia?
The credit, Martz says, goes to the Swedish immigrants in Philadelphia in the late 17th century. But it was quickly picked up by other neighborhoods in South Philly. That reveling, by the way, including lots of gun fire why not? The mummers would also go into people's houses and make a ruckus, playing with blinds and demanding soup or alcohol before they left, according to Martz.
The parade aspect of the Mummers that we recognize today really came together in the s. When did the city get involved? Turns out, the city wasn't a fan of a bunch of people in crazy costumes roaming around shooting guns and demanding alcohol. So they got involved, sanctioning and organizing the first official Philadelphia Mummers Parade in The city figured with its involvement it could tone down the parade.
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