[nosy nellie]

Did any of the older forum members ever go Mummering? when they were young.
We used to go out in a gang new years eve with our faces blacked with soot Knocking on doors and singing Happy new year and we would have some coal with us and the darkest one among us would have to go and poke the fire and we all would sing,

Happy new year Happy new year.
Plenty of money and a cellar full of beer.
A horse and a gig and a big fat pig to kill next year.
Hole in me stocking,hole in me shoe please can you spare us a copper or two if you ant got copper silver will do if you ant got silver .
God bless you.
We were given a drink something to eat and sometimes a few coppers.
We would be going round the neighbours for hours and most houses would be having a party and the streets would be very busy with people coming and going we were never in any danger.
.

[hillsbro]

Oh here we come a-wassailing, among the leaves so green,
Oh here we come a-wassailing, so fair to be seen.

..Love and joy come to you,
..And to you your wassail too,
..May God bless you and send you a Happy New Year,
..May god send you a Happy New Year.

We are not common beggars who go from door to door,
For we are neighbours children, whom you have seen before.

..Love and joy come to you,
..And to you your wassail too,
..May God bless you and send you a Happy New Year,
..May god send you a Happy New Year.

etc. etc. © hillsbro, c. 1958.

And another version of nosy nellie's:

Happy new year, Happy new year.
Plenty of money and a cellar full of beer.
A horse and a gig and a big fat pig to last you all next year.
Hole in me stocking, hole in me shoe, please can you spare a penny or two,
If you haven't a penny, a ha'penny will do
If you haven't a ha'penny, God bless you!.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, Forummers!

[nosy nellie]

Another New Year thing my Grandmother used to say was you must pay all your debts before midnight because if you are owing money New Years Day you will be owing money all year round.

[cleegirl]

Originally Posted by nosy nellie

Did any of the older forum members ever go Mummering? when they were young.
We used to go out in a gang new years eve with our faces blacked with soot Knocking on doors and singing Happy new year and we would have some coal with us and the darkest one among us would have to go and poke the fire and we all would sing,

Happy new year Happy new year.
Plenty of money and a cellar full of beer.
A horse and a gig and a big fat pig to kill next year.
Hole in me stocking,hole in me shoe please can you spare us a copper or two if you ant got copper silver will do if you ant got silver .
God bless you.
We were given a drink something to eat and sometimes a few coppers.
We would be going round the neighbours for hours and most houses would be having a party and the streets would be very busy with people coming and going we were never in any danger.
.

yes i remember doing that did nt know what it was called but we used to have such fun and maybe get a couple a pennies for our trouble

[loobylou2008]

Happy new year Happy new year.
Plenty of money and a cellar full of beer.
A horse and a gig and a big fat pig to kill next year.
Hole in me stocking,hole in me shoe please can you spare us a copper or two if you ant got copper silver will do if you ant got silver .

all the kids from our street used to go around together at midnight and recite the above!!.....when it was safe at night , even at midnight. the neighbours all gave us money and some would even try to ply us with the odd cider or cherry b!! lol those were the days

[harvey19]

Many years ago I remember my grandparents leaving a piece of coal, a sixpence and slice obf bread outside their front door. At midnight my dad and I would go and knock on their door to take it in so they would have warmth, money and food all the new year.

[nosy nellie]

Originally Posted by harvey19

Many years ago I remember my grandparents leaving a piece of coal, a sixpence and slice obf bread outside their front door. At midnight my dad and I would go and knock on their door to take it in so they would have warmth, money and food all the new year.

You have just reminded me Harvey we also used to take a piece of coal in fact I still keep a lump of coal in the house even now.

[PopT]

When I was a kid I went to the Glossop's house where they played out a Mummers play.

Three members of the family would go into the kitchen and would enter the dressed up as a mummer character and act out a different character speaking in Rhyme.

There was St George who had come to kill the Dragon, a Doctor to cure all ailments etc. etc,

I can remember them but not the words as I was a young kid at the time.

Can anyone else shed some light on the Christmas Mummer's play?

Happy Days! PopT

[Tuppie]

The one I remember played around Derbyshire on New Years Eve was T'Owd Tup.
Here comes me & our old lass
Short of money and short of brass
Pay for a pint and let us sup
And then we'll show you our old Tup.

OLD MAN & WOMAN SING:

As we were going to Derby
Upon a market day
We had the finest Tup
That ever fed on hay
{CHORUS} Fai-o—lai nanny-go-lai

CHARACTER: {JOINING OLD MAN & WOMAN}

What are you doing with that Tup?

OLD MAN & OLD WOMAN: {IN UNISON)

We were taking him to Derby to be stuck,
but we don't think he'll make it.
{ADDRESSES AUDIENCE} Is there a butcher in the house?

CHARACTER:
Our Bill's a blacksmith

OLD MAN & OLD WOMAN:
You daft old bugger [or fool or idiot etc.]
We don't want a blacksmith, we want a butcher.

CHARACTER:
Our Bob's a butcher.

OLD MAN & OLD WOMAN:
You daft bugger [or fool etc.]
Fetch him here and tell him he's wanted.

CHARACTER: {WALKS TO DOOR & SHOUTS}

Bob! Bring yourself here, you're wanted.

{ENTER BOB THE BUTCHER}

BOB:

What's going on?
What's all the noise about?
{LOOKING ROUND SEES TUP} By - that's as fine a tup as ever I've seen,
where are you taking him?

OLD MAN & OLD WOMAN:

We were taking him to Derby to be stuck,
but we don't think he'll make it.
so we want him sticking now.
Are you a butcher?

BOB:

That I am, the best in Derby.

OLD MAN & WOMAN;

Will you stick the Tup?

BOB: {TAKING KNIFE PROM APRON}

Aye, I will that.
Where do you want him sticking, head or -tail?

OLD MAN & WOMAN:

In the head to be sure.

{BOB PLUNGES KNIFE TO TUP'S HEAD. TUP FALLS TO GROUND MAKING APPROPRIATE NOISES & KICKS ETC.}

ALL SING: (EXCEPT BUTCHER)

And now the butcher has stuck the Tup
Who's in danger of his life
He's up to his knees in blood.
Crying out for a longer life

[All]

All the women in Derby
Came begging for his ears
To make aprons with
To last them forty years

All the men in Derby
Came begging for his tail
To make a big strong rope
To hang in Derby jail

And all the boys in Derby
Came begging for his eyes
To make footballs with
To lastthem [sic] all their lives

And all the girls in Derby
Came begging for his hide
To make shoes with
To keep their feet warm inside

And now our song is ended
We have no more to say
Pleace give us a Christmas (New Year) gift
And let us go away

Tuppie

[willybite]

Originally Posted by nosy nellie

Did any of the older forum members ever go Mummering? when they were young.
We used to go out in a gang new years eve with our faces blacked with soot Knocking on doors and singing Happy new year and we would have some coal with us and the darkest one among us would have to go and poke the fire and we all would sing,

Happy new year Happy new year.
Plenty of money and a cellar full of beer.
A horse and a gig and a big fat pig to kill next year.
Hole in me stocking,hole in me shoe please can you spare us a copper or two if you ant got copper silver will do if you ant got silver .
God bless you.
We were given a drink something to eat and sometimes a few coppers.
We would be going round the neighbours for hours and most houses would be having a party and the streets would be very busy with people coming and going we were never in any danger.
.

hiya i still remember the last time i went mummering it was around 1950 ish, before we set off four or five of us, we were told by somebody to grease our faces before we "sooted" up well that was a bit of a ##### as we used dripping as grease it still showed on our clocks three days into the new year, and only one family had us in to wish a new year ah well.

[pattricia]

Ive never heard of Mummering, but I never had one single person round carolling on Christmas Eve did you ?

[mrs grissom]

Originally Posted by loobylou2008

Happy new year Happy new year.
Plenty of money and a cellar full of beer.
A horse and a gig and a big fat pig to kill next year.
Hole in me stocking,hole in me shoe please can you spare us a copper or two if you ant got copper silver will do if you ant got silver .

all the kids from our street used to go around together at midnight and recite the above!!.....when it was safe at night , even at midnight. the neighbours all gave us money and some would even try to ply us with the odd cider or cherry b!! lol those were the days

My Mum and Dad used to keep up this tradition every NYE. They always had to be in their own home before midnight or if not they would make my OH go into their house first. This was because he is Chinese so has black hair ( its bad luck for a first footer to be fair haired)
If they were already at home they would make him stand at the door and recite the rhyme above before they would let him in. then he would have to drink a tot of brandy for good luck. The tot was always a generous one and as he doesnt normaly drink this usually meant i would finish up driving him home in the wee small hours trying to explain yet again ,why he had to do it every year and him being too drunk to remember. And then we have to start all over again with a whole other set of superstitions when its Chinese New year in February. This year it falls on Feb 14th(Valentines Day) and its the Year of the Tiger.

[nosy nellie]

Originally Posted by pattricia

Ive never heard of Mummering, but I never had one single person round carolling on Christmas Eve did you ?

Hello Pattricia I too didn't have a carol singer this year,do you think the P.C brigade have put a stop to another one of our traditions.
Or will it be health and safety.

[rogG]

Interesting how these traditions evolve. I never heard of the term mummering while I was growing up in Sheffield mid 40s to late 60s. The piece of coal bit I remember though. When I moved to Canada, I moved from the West Coast (B.C) to the island of Newfoundland. There, I encountered mummering. Nowadays confined mainly to the small communities (outports), mummers paint their faces, often cover them completely except for eye and nose slits. They dress up in a combination of old clothing and bed sheets, going door to door where they are invited in for a glass of rum, or if it's a teetotal community a mug of tea. The hosts have to try and guess who the people are. Since some of these communities have very few people, it's usually not that hard.

[hillsbro]

Christmas / New Year mummers feature on a stamp issued to commemorate British folklore in 1981. The mummers shown are medieval, but the tradition has continued. Originally they were mime shows; the word "mummer" may come from the old English word "mum" meaning "silent" (as in "keep mum").

[rogG]

Originally Posted by hillsbro

Christmas / New Year mummers feature on a stamp issued to commemorate British folklore in 1981. The mummers shown are medieval, but the tradition has continued. Originally they were mime shows; the word "mummer" may come from the old English word "mum" meaning "silent" (as in "keep mum").

How does this resemble what people remember about mummering? People colonized Newfoundland mainly from the South West of England (Devon & Cornwall) and of course, Ireland. They brought the customs of the day with them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8OPy7De3bk

[beechnut]

Originally Posted by rogG

How does this resemble what people remember about mummering?...

Dressing-up and going from door to door, which forummers will remember, is just the latest form of a type of folk-play that goes back to the Middle Ages. Mumming is an English tradition of long standing, and hillsboro's stamp shows one of the older versions.

[sycamore66j]

Originally Posted by pattricia

Ive never heard of Mummering, but I never had one single person round carolling on Christmas Eve did you ?

we always referred to it as first footing and used to go up and down our street with the piece of coal, and along with my brother and sister we would be out carol singing on christmas eve. this would have been early 70,s. if anyone came to our house before christmas eve my dad would shout TOO EARLY and refuse to open the door !! the word scrooge comes to mind

[PopT]

Mummers plays go back to medieval times and Wakefield was famous for putting on these plays.

I do have a book on the subject but it is in the Uk and I am in NZ.

Maybe someone else can tell us more?

Happy days! PopT