The first day of 2023 found us in Philadelphia. And those in the know, know that means the annual Mummer’s Parade. For those not in the know, I will explain what the Mummer’s Parade is.
The Mummer’s Parade means that this kind of dress and behavior is allowed, accepted, and even expected. And, though this may shock you, alcohol plays no small role in this endeavor.
Mummers.
The Mummer’s Parade has a history going back to the 1700s. European immigrants would celebrate the new year wearing costumes, visiting friends and parading around. Traditions from several different European groups ended up blending together to become an extended rowdy revelry. Apparently, George Washington participated when he served as President and Philly was the capitol.
As usual with happenings of this nature, things started getting out of hand. Revelers started demanding free drinks from public houses and vandalism started occurring. The City of Philadelphia tried banning events and, as to be expected, Philadelphians responded in the same manner as they do today. They ignored the bans. This is Philly after all.
The City of Philadelphia eventually recognized a lost cause and instead of banning the parades decided to regulate them. To make sure everyone played by the rules they resorted to bribery by offering cash prizes. That at least helped reign in some of the worst problems.
The marching groups are clubs mostly headquartered on Philly’s south second street. That’s “two-street” in Philly speak. The clubs participate under one of five categories: Comics, Wench Brigades, String Bands, Fancies, and Fancy Brigades. The Fancy Brigades are large and have elaborate costumes so they only march for a short bit and then go into the Philly Convention Center to have their costumes and performances judged. Some of the clubs are just out having a fun time. Others put a lot into their costumes and do great performance routines. Unfortunately, my cheap hosting services does not allow me to upload videos.
Simple costumes
Elaborate costumes and performances.
The parade has had its problems. For a long time, racism was pervasive. I can remember as a kid seeing marching clubs parading in blackface. Black marching clubs were systematically discriminated against, and never won the judging or cash prizes. There has been misappropriation of other ethnic cultures like Hispanics or Native Americans. For a long time, the clubs did not allow women.
Past problems aside, it is a day of fun and revelry. Open alcohol container laws appear to be suspended for the day and the whole thing turns into a five-mile-long party. And no surprise here, the partying continues long after the parade. I spent part of the time on top of a solar powered trash compactor taking pictures. Spectators would stop and chat with me. I had someone ask me to take their dog’s picture and group of ladies asked to pose for me. A parade participant saw me had a spectator take a string of party beads to me.
Me on my perch. Note the nearby police car. Some of the police were wearing party beads.
Dog picture
Gals posing
Mitchell and Mummer
Later that night from Molly’s apartment. A club leaving their bar of choice and walking down South Street on their way home.
With this kind of revelry there is plenty of opportunity for problems. I’m sure there are some residents that hate the whole affair. The parade runs from 9:00 Am to 6:00 PM. The route is long and plays havoc with Philly traffic. Probably every police officer for a hundred miles around is on duty.
But despite the drunken revelry, everyone I saw was relatively well behaved. Right below my perch were trash cans, one for garbage and one for recyclables. I was pleasantly surprised to see people go out of their way to put their empties in the right container instead of just dropping them on the ground. At one point the trash cans were overflowing. A gentleman that looked every bit like a Hells Angel very carefully balanced his empty beer can on top of the pile. When another can slide off the pile, he picked it up and carefully got it back into the recycling container. He could have just as easily crushed his empty on his forehead and dropped it on the ground.
Ed's and Lise's Biggish Years 