Music That You Love

The origins of mummery can be traced back to the Roman Saturnalia festivals in 400 b.c. This popular holiday, held in December, was a feast day for the god of agriculture, Saturn. During Saturnalia, the Romans celebrated the new solar year with merrymaking, music, dance, and prayers for their winter crops. Age and rank were forgotten as slaves were waited on and wore their master's clothing. A rex Saturnalitius led the revels making ludicrous commands.

Organized parading developed from masked revelers in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century European villages. The colonial settlers transplanted these traditions to America. Mummers would make noise and wear disguises to protect themselves from being recognized by evil spirits who would bring bad luck. Disguised as trees, wheat stalks, or animals, they transfigured their faces with masks, makeup, or burnt cork. One popular disguise for men was to dress as women.