Frank and Ann Murphy on Mummering

Frank: That’s how you looked for a few drinks see. Dress up for mummering. Go to certain person’s house, 9 chances out of 10, they would have a flask put aside for this.  You would go and however many was with the mummers then. You’d have one fellow  with you that would play the accordion. And that was  if 5 or 6 went to the house first thing they would do was try to identify who they were.  And after a while once they got them figured out, you would take your face up towel, face cloth or a bed spread,or a pillow case from  over your head . Then they pass around the flask and then that would happen in the  next house.

Ann: We had mummering, when we were youngsters every night of Christmas. Everybody dress up and go mummering, every night,  the youngsters. All the youngsters, we’d go mummering then every night.

Interviewer: Now is nothing …

Ann: You wouldn’t even let a mummer in now.

Interviewer: You got to show your face  if anyone goes around right away, you can’t.

Ann: That’s what we enjoyed for Christmas was mummering.

Interviewer: And that was every night?

Ann: That was every night, the twelve nights of Christmas, dress up and go mummering.  Up here now, used to be people just sing, whoever was there, the man or the woman they would sing.

Interviewer: They didn’t have to have the music on …

Ann: No, no.

Interviewer: They’d just sing you something so they’d get you  to have a dance.

Ann: That’s right, yeah.

Frank: Nine chances out of ten you go to most of the houses and the people  that wasn’t mummering, they’d be partying. The adults.