Thursday, January 3, 2008

A Holy Day Of Mummer Obligation

On New Year's Day, Philadelphians do one of two things: Watch the Mummer's Parade or do everything possible to avoid watching the Mummer's Parade. In our house, we do both.

Since we were incapacitated by influenza this year, I finally won the Mummer's viewing battle. We watched...or at least I watched. My husband stayed at a safe distance and made the occasional snide comment. It's amazing how every January 1, we suddenly turn into James Carville and Mary Matalin.

It's difficult to explain the Mummers to a non-Philadelphian. Essentially, a bunch of working stiffs, dress up in sequins and put on a 10-hour parade. It's as if the Teamsters borrowed costumes from all the Broadway musicals and walked the New York City Marathon.

The Parade consists of four parts: Comics, Fancy, Fancy Brigade and, my favorite, String Band.

To give you an idea of how some of those 10-plus hours are filled, here's a You Tube clip of the Ferko String Band performing in the 2007 parade.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Yes! I have missed the 'Bummers Day Parade' ever since I left Philly! The only way to watch it is on TV.

I loved the 'Teamsters-B'Way costumes-marathon' take. Perfect. I've been trying for years to explain it to people in the Midwest.