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Furry Dance -hamsters optional

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It is believed to predate Christianity, be of Pagan origin, and to be mainly concerned with welcoming the coming of summer and relief that the winter has passed. Despite the confusion everyone seems sure that it is one of the oldest customs to persist in the country.

The celebration was once banned during the Victorian era for being ‘a drunken revelry’. However it opens rather sedately at 7am with a dance performed by smartly dressed men (shirts and ties and presumably trousers too) and women in summer dresses.

This was a dance originally for the servant class and involves dancing in and out of churches, shops, houses and their gardens to the beat of a large bass drum.

Next up (at 8.30am) is the Hal-an-Tow – a rowdy dance/play. Its verses incorporate references to the Spanish Armada, St George and the dragon and Robin hood; an example of the hotchpotch of influences which inform the celebrations.

An hour or so later the children get their chance. They dress in white and wear an array of flowers -including Lily of the valley, a variety which has a particular association with the festivities. The procession of children is so long that many can not even hear the band – this means that some are out of step and uncoordinated, providing amusement for the mean spirited.

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