Mummering | Holiday Trivia | Are masks for Halloween or Christmas?

Mummering is a little known holiday tradition that involves wearing a mask at Christmas rather than Halloween.

Very rarely do we go Christmas caroling to our neighbors anymore. We certainly don’t think of wearing masks to go caroling. Oddly enough, we still go trick-or-treating in disguise and think little of the oddity or risk this may pose.

Mummering was temporarily banned in the 1800s because a man by the name of Isaac Mercer was murdered by a group of mummers. A subsequent bill mandated that someone couldn’t wear a public disguise unless they had permission from the local government.

So, what exactly is Mummering, where did it originate and is this tradition practiced anywhere today?

What is Mummering

Mummering is when a group of people wear a mask or disguise over their face and visit a neighbor’s house during the 12 days of Christmas. If they are welcomed into the neighbor’s home, they will perform a dance, sing, tell jokes, or recite something clever. Then the neighbors must guess the real identity of the mummers before they offer them some sort of refreshment.

This sounds strikingly similar to the Halloween tradition because “treats,” “jest” and “guessing” are involved. However, with mummering, the neighbors actually enter the host’s home, rather than just standing on the front steps. If the hosts are able to identify the true identity of the mummers, the disguises will be removed. Then, the neighbors will enjoy some time together before moving on to the next home.

Sounds like fun. So where did this tradition originate?

Origination of Mummering

According to Wikipedia, Mummering is a Christmas tradition that can be traced all the way back to Newfoundland as late as 1819. Its modern form has been practiced traditionally in England and Ireland.

The way the tradition was carried out varied from city to city and despite the law that was put into place to ban its practice, the rural community continued to uphold Mummering.

Is this tradition practiced today?

Our of curiosity, I took a trip over to YouTube to see if anyone had uploaded any mummering videos to give us a realtime view into what mummering actually is.

Check out what I found. The last video is especially heartwarming because the mummers have visited an elderly woman’s home and she is appreciative of their company. This reminded me of my own childhood memories of Christmas caroling.

Holidays are especially a time for loving traditions. No matter what your circumstances, remember:

You can feel love anywhere. Anytime. All the time.

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