Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Any mummers lowed in?



Its pretty fair to say that I'm more than just a little homesick the past few days. If I was home tonight, I'd be out mummering with my sisters.

Mummering or Jannying has been a tradition in Newfoundland since colonists from England brought the custom over in the beginning of the seventeenth century. Mummer comes from the old French ‘momer’ which means to wear a mask; pantomime. In particular, it refers to a masked or costumed merrymaker, especially at a festival.

Christmas revellers disguise themselves with old clothing and cover their faces with a hood, scarf or mask and go from house to house in their community sometime during the twelve nights of Christmas.

Mummers usually carry musical instruments so they can entertain; sing and dance in the houses they visit. In exchange for a cup of grog and a bit of Christmas cake of course. Then a great guessing game ensues as everyone tries to guess the identities of the mummers. if guessed correctly, the mummers remove their masks, if not they can keep them on.


7 comments:

  1. Could that be a Jewish mummer on the left? It looks like she's wearing a tallit (Jewish shawl). You sure have strange, fun traditions over there.
    xoRobyn

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  2. Now that is really wild! Thanks, I learned something new today.

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  3. This kind of post is what makes me love blogging and reading blogs so much

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  4. If you played the harp and had a tail you'd be a mummer-maid. Tee hee hee!

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  5. Interesting post - must be hard to eat cake while keeping your identity disguised, tho

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  6. I am so glad you visited my blog because now I am visitings yours as a result! I have NEVER heard of mummering. I know almost nothing about Newfoundland. I have got to visit your blog more! This is fascinating. I live in Texas, United States.

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