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Before
the United Nations
and its peace-keepers, there was really only Father Christmas.
Every
December, in thousands of villages around the country, Santa would
step in and stop St George having a scrap with some exotic invader.
Then
everyone would stand around and sing a jolly song, and ask for money.
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Click
here to see where your local mummers are
performing.
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And
usually, this would happen after St George had already been killed
in one sword fight, and so ought to know better.
George's
survival each year was brought about by a passing doctor - the sort
whose idea of curing a sparrow with tooth-ache would be to chop
its head off. It works every time.
All
this would happen in rhyming verse - in pubs, village streets and
private houses.
Mummers
plays all had pretty much the same story line, but each village
had its own nonsensical script and characters, whose parts would
often begin with the words, "In comes I..."
This
made it a lot easier for the actors to remember their parts, which
were never written down. This didn't matter much, though, because
most of the audience would know the words anyway.
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| Adderbury's
modern play features old Squire Cobb. |
Costumes
varied from theatrical-style clothing to strips of cloth or newspaper,
sometimes even covering the mummers' faces.
Performances
were carried on in thousands of villages in the 19th Century and
earlier. Their origins and history are unknown.
By
the early 20th century, they'd almost died out.
They
were revived at the same time as morris dancing - often by the same
people - and now they are one of the most special parts of Christmas
for people who know about them.
A website
lists performances all round the country (see link, above).
Bampton
Mummers are one of only a handful of companies in the country with
a history of performance stretching back to the 19th Century (if
not further earlier).
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Bring to me a old woman seven years dead,
eight years burried, nine years laid in her grave. I will
guarantee her life. 
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| The
Doctor, Waterstock mummers play |
Most
performances take place in private homes around the village on Christmas
Eve.
The
drink flows freely and the play becomes more comic as the evening
draws on.
Headington
Quarry's ancient play is performed round the village every Boxing
Day by the morris dancers.
They
also dance out around the village pubs to commemorate a meeting
in 1899 between the team and the musicologist Cecil Sharp, which
sparked the national revival of morris dancing.
Abingdon
Mummers hold a "town tour" before Christmas... followed by a "world
tour" of nearby villages.
Performances
also take place in Adderbury, Drayton, Steventon, Witney, Ducklington,
Ratley, Charlbury, Finstock, Chinnor, Blewbury, Wantage and Faringdon.
Most
take place on Boxing Day, but there are some in the run-up to Christmas.
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