Everyone from the Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley area knows that New Year's Day is the time for the annual Philadelphia Mummers New Year's Day Parade.
Mummers and the annual Mummers Parade are unique to Philadelphia. I know of nothing like it anywhere else. Their sight and sound are distinctive. Adults in elaborate customes march and strut through Philadelphia streets, many while playing instruments, to entertain us and welcome in the new year.
It you can not be one of the hundreds of thousands that regularly make it into the city each year to watch the parade, you can catch it on local TV 17.
In addition to local coverage provided by myphl17, live coverage of the Mummers Parade can also be seen nationally on Superstation WGN (Direct TV channel 307 and Dish Network channel 239) beginning at 3pm EST on New Year's Day myphl17's sister station, Boston's WLVI.
The Mummers tradition developed from New Year celebrations that began before our nation was officially established and its roots can be traced back over 2000 years to the Old World. The word "mummer" is believed to be derived from the German word for "disguise" and there are some historical ties to the English mummers tradition. Early forms of the parades as we know them today go back at least to 1888, but it was not until 1901 that they became officially recognized by the City of Philadelphia and Mummer String Bands were formally established. There are three main categories, or divisions, of Mummers groups in the annual parade: Comics, Fancies and String Bands, with the largest segment being the String Bands. The elaborate costumes of all the Mummers, the strutting and prancing antics of the Comic and Fancy Mummers, and the unique sound and choreography of the String Bands are what the majority of locals associate with Mummers. Today more than 10,000 Mummers participate in the parade.
Here are resources to learn more about the Mummers:
Mummers.com - information about the parade, history, FAQ's, links to more resources.
PhillyMummers.com - history overview of the Mummers.
Short History of the Mummers - Origins and parade.
MummersTime Magazine - Mummer News (you will also hear a short music clip of the traditional sound)
String Band Archives - historical records, photos, music, videos.
Mummer Museum - paraphernalia and memorabilia.
RiverFront Mummers NYA - web site of one of the mummers brigades, FAQ's, learn what a "wench" is.
Strut! The Movie - It's a parade, but you've never seen a parade like this before!
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Happy New Year