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The Mummers Parade is held each New Year's Day in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Local clubs (usually called "New Years Associations") compete in one of four categories (Comics, Fancies, String Bands, and Fancy Brigades). They prepare elaborate costumes and moveable scenery, which take months to complete. This is done in clubhouses, many of which are located on or near 2nd Street (called "Two Street" by some local residents) in South Philadelphia, which also serve as social gathering places for members.

History

The Mummers Parade traces back to mid-17th century roots, blending elements from Northern European, British and African American heritages. The parade is related to the Mummers Play tradition from Ireland.

Swedes, Philadelphia's first settlers, brought the custom of visiting neighbors on "Second Day Christmas" (December 26) with them to Tinicum. This was soon extended through New Year’s Day with costumed celebrants loudly parading through the city.

Traditional New Years' celebrations of firing guns (Swedes and Finns) and recitations of traditional rhymes (English and Welsh) joined common practices of visiting neighbors. The Belsnickle, an early German version of Santa Clause, inspired comic masqueraders riding through Tinicum and Kingsessingdressed as clowns. Philadelphia's 19th century Carnival of Horns drew thousands of merrymakers in festive costumes to the vicinity of Eighth and South Streets in South Philadelphia. Southern plantation life’s contributions include the Parade’s theme song, Oh! Dem Golden Slippers, as well as the 19th-century cakewalk, dubbed the "Mummers' Strut".

Celebrants using firearms to "shoot in" the new year much later inspired the "New Year's Shooters and Mummers Association". Revelers travelling from door-to-door sang and danced for rewards of food and drink. The early Swedish Mummers often selected a "speech director", who had a special dance and recited a traditional rhyme, such as:

Here we stand before your door,

As we stood the year before;
Give us whiskey; give us gin,
Open the door and let us in.
Or give us something nice and hot

Like a steaming hot bowl of pepper pot!

The earliest documented club, the Chain Gang, formed in 1840. The first official parade was held January 1, 1901. The first String Band, Trilby, first paraded in 1902. In the early years of the official parade, the make-shift costumes of most celebrants were gradually replaced by more elaborate outfits funded by associations’ fund-raising efforts.

Location, time and route

The Mummers Parade travelled northward on Broad Street in Philadelphia for decades until the 1995 parade when the parade was moved to Market Street due to construction work on Broad Street (noteably the "Avenue of the Arts" between Washington Ave. and City Hall). After construction was completed, the parade returned to Broad Street from 1996 to 1999. For various reasons, the parade was moved again to Market Street in 2000. In 2004, the parade was moved back to Broad Street. In 1997 the Fancy Brigades were moved to the Pennsylvania Convention Center, allowing for larger sets, but limiting audience size.

Each year, thousands of people participate in the parade, many wearing elaborate costumes costing thousands of dollars to make. Close to $400,000 in prizes is awarded to the various winners.

The parade begins at 9:00 AM and ends sometime before 8:00 PM. Fancy Brigades perform at the nearby Pennsylvania Convention Center at noon and, in a second, judged show, at 5:00 PM.

Two Street

Because of the large number of clubhouses there, South 2nd Street often serves as an party location after the parade, with some clubs marching in a second, unofficial parade. Local residents and others in the area for the parade crowd the local bars, clubhouses and sidewalks, sometimes joining in the unofficial parade. With the parade they spent months preparing for over, the Mummers let loose and celebrate. This multi-block party continues well into the night or early morning, with some Mummers not sleeping for 24 hours straight.

Blackened faces

The wearing of black face paint was once a traditional part of the parade. Growing dissent from civil rights groups and the offense of the black community led to a 1964 official city policy ruling out blackface.

External links

• Official site
• National Geographic Feature
• Mummers Parade Page
• Home of the Philadelphia Mummers Association

References

1. http://www.fieldtrip.com/pa/53363050.htm
2. ^ Philadelphia Department of Recreation, Mummers Parade History. Accessed 27 November 2007.
3. ^ Philadelphia Mummers Association, The Philadelphia Tradition. Accessed 27 November 2007.
4. http://riverfrontmummers.com/mummers/articles/article1.html

• Parades
• Philadelphia culture