Many of our holiday traditions make logical sense. You eat fruitcake because it keeps for ages without going bad and uses up all of the leftovers from harvest season. We have festivals for light, like St. Lucy’s Day, to avoid the darkness. However, there are also some traditions that seem to defy any sort of logic and we have no idea where they come from. And mummering is absolutely one of those bizarre holiday traditions. So, what is mummering and why do we do it?
Note: The term “mumming” and “mummering” seem to be used interchangeably in records (even in the same place). I’ll be using mummering throughout, keep an eye out for mumming in the news/ the archives!
What is Mummering?
Although it might make you think of the mother in your life, mummering is,
“A Christmas performance indiguise… One sort of mumming in early-modern England involved masked groups going to neighbouring houses for seasonal hospitality… Mumming in England also refers to a traditional play at Christmas involving a mock combat between two heroes. It often begings with an introduction by a character called Father Christmas, followed by the appearance of protagonists, St. George or King George versus the Turk or the Slasher… Minor characters, such as a Fool, Beelzebub, a poor man, and a sweeper do a spot of entertaining before collecting money from the audience and ending the show with a song.” (Encyclopedia, 150)
Why Do People Go Mummering?
Quite frankly, we don’t know. There is the tradition of mumming or mummering, that happens in the UK , Ireland, and various parts of Europe, as well as in Eastern Canada and the US. In Newfoundland and on the Eastern Seaboard, it tends to take the form of the house-to-house and community visits, rather than the play version that you see in the UK. But historians don’t know what purpose it served or why it started. (If any anthropologists would like to toss in their suggestions, I would love to hear them!) We think it started between 1700 and 1750, but other than that, we’ve got no clue what it was originally meant to do.
A Newfoundland Tradition
Mummering is a beloved tradition in Newfoundland and Labrador, the eastern-most provinces in Canada. It’s not really seen elsewhere, but it is a steadfast Christmas tradition there. Originally in Newfoundland, the Mummer’s Play was performed in the early nineteenth century. It morphed into a far more mobile and public display, though- they adapted “it to a formal parade of costumed figures and a Christmas-season house visit.” (Encyclopedia, 151) In Newfoundland, mummering includes the ownshook, “a fool… dressed as a woman and often armed with an inflated bladder used to flail at spectators and to clear a path”. (Encyclopedia, 169) Community members of all shapes, sizes, ages, and breeds, take part, and it is still growing strong today!
Now that we’ve answered what is mummering, would you ever take part?
Cheers,
The Historian
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