Mummers

On Saturday night Steve and I went to Rob's 40th birthday party, at about 10pm some mummers arrived at the door. This is the second time Steve and I have seen mummers here and to be honest it is a bit creepy for the uninitiated.  I didn't even guess that the three mummers were all guests at the party, including Nancy, Rob's wife!  The mummers wore big gumboots, gaiters stuffed with pillows, check shirts, hats and the white mask over their faces, unfortunately I don't have a photo.

The mummers put on some Newfie music and danced around the loungeroom, one even grabbed Steve to join them!  I have taken the following description of mummers from the web.

 Who are the Mummers?

Mummers also called ‘Jannies’, have been a tradition in Newfoundland since colonists from England brought the custom at 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. When the householder responds to the mummers’ tapping on the door, the visitors using disguised voices ask, “Any mummers ‘lowed in?”

If they are welcomed in, they usually entertain their hosts with humorous antics and the musical instruments they carry, very often a fiddle. Some hosts offer alcoholic drinks and some serve cake or other sweets. A great guessing game ensues as the hosts try to guess the identities of the mummers. When correctly identified, the revellers remove their masks, but if not identified, they can keep them on.