markie1425 Loc: Bryn Mawr, PA

Faces from Philadelphia's iconic 2019 Mummers Parade.

The first "official" Philadelphia Mummers Parade was held in 1901, although various groups marched on New Year's Day for decades before that.

Happy New Year to all Hoggers. Thank you for making this group the source of all photographic information (and occasional disinformation).

UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT

What a fun collage!

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Looks like a lot of fun was had by many.
--Bob

markie1425 Loc: Bryn Mawr, PA

Am adding my favorite image--two Mummers shouting at the tops of their lungs "E-A-G-L-E-S... Eagles!"

Next stop--Chicago.

Largobob

So, what's a Mummer?

markie1425 Loc: Bryn Mawr, PA

Better that I send this Wikipedia posting (below).

Perhaps too much information.

Shorter version is increasingly inebriated fancy, musical and clown brigades strutting up or down Philadelphia's Broad Street.

They have very iconic string band music which you can hear on this soundtrack.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86SNkhiAIU0&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR1j3Ij2d2LjOloZl9xuS7YXG_qM89RsMWuE6GwY_fZTaK5ioEKKCLR482I

All very, very Philadelphia.


"The parade traces back to mid-17th-century roots, blending elements from Swedish, Finnish, Irish, English, German, and other European heritages, as well as African heritage.[10][11] The parade is related to the Mummers Play tradition from Britain and Ireland.[12] Revivals of this tradition are still celebrated annually in South Gloucestershire, England on Boxing Day along with other locations in England and in parts of Ireland on St. Stephen's Day and also in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador around Christmas.

Swedes and Finns, the first European colonists in the Philadelphia area, 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.[12][13] They appointed a "speech director", who performed a special dance with a traditional rhyme:

“ 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.[13][14]
Or give us something nice and hot
Like a steaming hot bowl of pepper pot![15]

”
The Mummers derive their name from the Mummers' plays performed in Philadelphia in the 18th century as part of a wide variety of working class street celebrations around Christmas. By the early 19th century, these coalesced with earlier Swedish customs, including the Christmas neighbor visits and possibly shooting firearms on New Year's Day (although this was common in other countries as well) as well as the Pennsylvania German custom of "belsnickling," where adults in disguise questioned children about their behavior during the previous year.[16]

U.S. President George Washington carried on the official custom of New Year's Day calls during the seven years he occupied President's House in Philadelphia. The Mummers continued their traditions of comic verse in exchange for cakes and ale. Small groups of up to twenty mummers, their faces blackened, went door to door, shooting and shouting, and adapting the English Mummer's play by replacing the character of "King George" with that of "General Washington."[14]

Through the 19th century, large groups of disguised (often in blackface) working class young men roamed the streets on New Year's Day, organizing "riotous" processions, firing weapons into the air, and demanding free drinks in taverns, and generally challenging middle and upper-class notions of order and decorum.[16]

An 1808 law decreed that "masquerades" and "masquerade halls" were "common nuisances" and that anyone participating would be subject to a fine and imprisonment. It was apparently never successfully enforced and was repealed in 1859.[14][17][18]Henry Muhlenberg, writing in 1839, reported, "Men met on the roads in Tinicum and Kingsessing, who were disguised as clowns, shouting at the top of their voices and shooting guns.[14]

Unable to suppress the custom, by the 1880s the city government began to pursue a policy of co-option, requiring participants to join organized groups with designated leaders who had to apply for permits and were responsible for their groups actions. The earliest documented club, the Chain Gang, had formed in 1840 and Golden Crown first marched in 1876 with cross-town rivals Silver Crown forming soon after. By 1881, a local report said "Parties of paraders" made the street "almost like a masked Ball."[18] By 1900, these groups formed part of an organized, city-sanctioned parade with cash prizes for the best performances.[16]

Southern plantation life's contributions include the parade's theme song, James A. Bland's "Oh, Dem Golden Slippers" (introduced in 1903), as well as the 19th-century cakewalk, dubbed the "Mummers' Strut" or the "2 Street Strut".[10][13]

The first official parade was held January 1, 1901. The first string band, Trilby, was organized in 1898, first paraded in 1902, and last paraded in 1924[citation needed] In the early years of the official parade, the makeshift costumes of most celebrants were gradually replaced by more elaborate outfits funded by associations' fund-raising efforts.[10]

The official parade has been cancelled only twice during its history. The first cancellation happened in 1919 as a result of the aftermath of World War I and the second cancellation occurred in 1934 due to the effects of the Great Depression and a lack of prize money.

As they assimilated to Philadelphia, many immigrant groups have joined the tradition. Numerous Irish immigrants and Irish-Americans from South Philadelphia became involved in the Mummers Parade as both Mummers performers and parade goers. Other ethnic groups were soon integrated into the parade through the years. Italian-Americans and Italian immigrants to South Philadelphia began to participate in the Mummers Parade in large numbers after World War II.[19][19] While South Philadelphia (especially Pennsport) remains one of the most important centers for Mummers traditions and Mummers members, more recent immigrants to the neighborhood from Asia and Latin America generally have fewer ties to the parade and tradition.[20]

While almost all parade participants are currently white, African American mummers existed in the past. The all African American Golden Eagle Club, formed in 1866, had 300 members in the 1906 parade, for example. Judges systematically discriminated against black clubs, however, and the last, the Octavius Catto Club, withdrew after receiving last place in the 1929 parade.[21] The brass bands hired to accompany the Comic Brigades often include black musicians, but do not dress in costume and consider themselves session musicians rather than Mummers. By 1964, only one African American mummer, Willis Fluelling, remained.[22] As of 2007, a few of the less traditional clubs, such as Spiral Q Puppet Theater's West Philadelphia Mummers Brigade, were integrated.

The comic "wenches" and other female roles in most skits are typically performed by men in drag.[23] Women were not officially allowed in the parade until the 1970s."

Largobob

Thanks for the wonderful information/background.


I guess where I came from, men were men, and didn't see any need to dress or act as clowns. Perhaps it's an ethnic thing?

rdarlington43 Loc: Charlotte, NC

Grew up in suburban Philadelphia and have many fond memories of the Mummers Parade. Have lived the last 50+ years in NC and am disappointed that it is not on national TV. Hard to compete with the Rose Bowl Parade. Yesterday I did find it on a Facebook livestream but the quality of the broadcast was not very good. Did not see any of the clubs with the large head dresses (Fancy Division) and that was disappointing. Love your pictures!

Photocraig

Where I came from many of the clowns were so clownish they needed no costumes either! But with the many millions living in New York City, in any era, Clowns and any other notable variety of person aren't too hard to find.

sodapop Loc: Bel Air, MD

Oh dem Golden Slippers!

foodie65

truckster Loc: Tampa Bay Area

It's a Philly thing, Bob.

Tell you what Bob, next year go to Philly on New Years day wearing Dallas Cowboys gear ... you just might find out how manly those fancies and comics actually are and can be while wearing dresses, gold lamé and make-up.