Mummers Parade

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History

The Mummers Parade, which finds its roots dating to pre-colonial times, resulted from a blend of Northern European, British and African American heritages.
 

Informal merrymaking and customs, which can be traced back to 1642, forty years prior to William Penn's arrival were incorporated into the Parade by 1901 when it became a city-sponsored event.

While the Swedes and Finns greeted the New Year by visiting neighbors and shooting guns, the English and Welsh celebrated also by visiting but added the reciting of standard rhymes and enjoying refreshments.

The Germans added the Belsnickle, the modern forerunner of Santa Clause, who spawned additional comic masqueraders. They enjoyed shooting in the New Year as well as riding through Tinicum and Kingsessing, the southern and western sections of the city, disguised as clowns.

Today's Mummers Parade also had some beginnings in 19th-century traditions as Philadelphia's Carnival of Horns drew thousands of costumed characters celebrating with a myriad of noisemakers to the area of Eighth and South Streets.

Southern plantation life also made significant contributions to today's New Year's Day event. Not only does its contribution include "Oh! Dem Golden Slippers," the Parade's theme tune composed by Philadelphian James Bland in 1879, but evidence indicates that the famed "Strut" may have been a possible offshoot of the popular 19th-century cakewalk dance.

Until the 1900's, almost all masqueraders wore make-shift apparel. However, spirit and imagination provided probable motivations for the revelers to join together in associations to raise money for more elaborate New Year's costumes.

The Chain Gang, the earliest club for which there is evidence, was established in 1840 followed by the Golden Crown Club in 1876 and the Silver Crown Club in 1877.

String Bands organized in the early 1900's with Trilby the first to parade in 1902, but not until 1906 did the bands compete.

Bart H. McHugh, a Philadelphia theatrical producer and publicity agent is credited with the idea for a city-sponsored parade. By the 1930's New Year's clubs had united for the purpose of encouraging and promoting the tradition of Mummery and presenting an organized body to the City when dealing with parade matters.