Nottinghamshire Weekly Express (1888)


Source:

[Anon.] (Auth.)
LOCAL NOTES AND QUERIES 781: CHRISTMAS CUSTOMS IN THE MIDLANDS
*Nottinghamshire Weekly Express, 21st Dec.1888

Article about various Christmas customs including the following section:

"Of the rest my notice must be brief. The mummers were wandering actors who gave public performances of boisterous tomfoolery and rude masquerading at this season of the year. The custom may also be traced back to Saturnalia. For a long time it existed under priestly check under the guise of 'mystery' and 'miracle plays', though largely shorn 'for this occasion only' of the religious element which was usually imparted to these plays. They were often repressed by the authorities as they were sometimes used as a convenient cloak for wreaking vengeance by means of assassination and other injuries upon private enemies."

Index Terms:

Locations: Midlands
Years: Publ. 1888
Subjects: Play; Mystery Plays; Miracle Plays; Christmas; Mummers; Saturnalia
Archives: TDRG Archive, Ref. TD00178;
Local Notes & Queries Scrapbook, Vol.1, pp.30

* indicates data that has not yet been validated against the original source and/or has yet to be completely indexed.


Last Updated Oct 2004 by Idwal Jones.