Mummers in the Schools - a Legacy Activity

Earlier this year, the Provincial Historic Commemorations Board designated the Christmas tradition of mummering and janneying as as a Distinctive Cultural Tradition or Practice of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

As part of that commemoration, the province set aside funds for some type of Legacy Activity project which would promote the tradition.

We started off with a series of questions. We all know what mummers look and sound like, but there’s much more to it than dressing up and dancing around. What do mummers do? What is a hobby horse? Where do mummers come from? What are the best ways to disguise yourself? And does the current generation of students, particularly urban students, know much about the tradition at all?

With those thoughts in mind, HFNL's ICH office sponsored a Mummers in the School program as part of the 2011 Mummers Festival (www.mummersfestival.ca). The program is designed for grades 4-6, and this year is lead by Ryan Davis, who is the coordinator of the annual festival.

All this week, Ryan has been touring schools in St. John's, Goulds, Paradise and Portugal Cove-St. Philip's with a slide show on mummering, his own hobby horse, and a tickle trunk of mummers costumes to get kids excited about this old Newfoundland tradition. Kids (and teachers) have been given a chance to dress up and give their classmates a chance to guess who is under that old lace tablecloth.

Feeling left out? No problem, the Mummers Parade is this Saturday, and we want YOU to be in it, in costume! See you there!

Some comments so far:

Hi Dale, I just wanted to send you an email to say Thank you for setting up the presentation for today. The kids and teachers absolutely loved it. It was very well done and interesting. Tell Ryan how much we enjoyed it!!! Thanks again.
Krista Molloy, Larkhall Academy

Thanks for an interesting and timely presentation for our students.Ron Parrott, Principal, Larkhall Academy

Thanks so very much!! Great sessions today! The kids are so very excited.
Several want to go home and make a hobby horse, including a few teachers!!
Thanks again!
Jill Moores, Paradise Elementary

The photos below are from Larkhall Academy in St. John's:

Tales of Town at Christmas. Wed, Dec 7th, 7pm

Working on History - Tales of Town at Christmas: 

Wednesday, December 7th, at 7:00 p.m.
The Rooms Theatre

Christmas in St. John’s is a very special time. Join folklorist Dale Jarvis as he sits down to chat with author Helen Porter about her memories of Christmas in Southside St. John’s, and with local businessman Bruce Templeton, who for the past three decades has been a very special assistant to Santa Claus himself!

This presentation is part of a series of programs connected with the Working on History exhibition at The Room. 

Tickets $5, free for members; a cash bar will follow the presentation.

SPOILER ALERT: may not be suitable for young children, or those not initiated into the mysteries of Santa Claus!

Volunteers needed for Mummers Festival! #newfoundland

We need your help! Volunteers play a vital role in these events. Even the smallest efforts have big effect. We hope you find as much joy as we do by participating in this community event!

Below is a list of roles we need filled. To sign up, please send an email to:

volunteer@mummersfestival.ca

Be sure to include:

• your full name
• your phone number
• the role(s) you would like to take on
• your email address

Many thanks! We look forward to working with you.

Hobby Horse Training:Learn how to make a hobby horse and then help us as a trainer. You will show others how to make them at our workshops. You will need to attend our training session on Tuesday, November 29 from 7:00-9:30 pm. Then sign up for at least 1 of our 3 Hobby Horse Workshops: Dec. 3 (10am-2pm), Dec. 6 (7-9:30pm), Dec. 10 (10am-2pm). *If you have made a hobby horse before, you can skip the training session.

Postering:This one requires many hands! We REALLY need help with this one by putting up posters and distributing postcards. We need help with the following areas: Throughout St. John’s, Mount Pearl, Torbay, Flatrock, Pouch Cove, Portugal Cove/St. Philips, Bell Island, CBS, Goulds, Southern Shore, Placentia/Argentia, Conception Bay North. This will happen late November/early December.

Materials Collecting:Help us gather up the needed materials for our workshops. You will need a car for this one. We have a list of items and locations for pick up. This will be ongoing between now and mid-December.

Sign Making:Help us paint and design various signs for the Festival. This will be ongoing between now and mid-December.

Parade Marshals:We need mummer marshals at our Rig Up and Parade. Various tasks include: setting up clothing stations, offering directions and information, monitoring the parade as we move along. Marshals will be briefed on Parade Day (Dec. 17) at 11:30 am.

Making Hobby Horses: Prepping for the 2011 Mummers Festival

This week, I taught two train-the-trainer Hobby Horse workshops here in St. John's. One was for the Arts Work conference, for teachers from across the province. The second was for MacMorran Community Centre, who plan on running hobby horse workshops for interested people in the neighbourhood.

Both sessions went extremely well, with a lot of laughter, and some gorgeous hobby horses.  I'll be adding some more hobby horse instructions to the Memorial University ICH page soon, but in the meantime, here are a few shots of our new hobby horse builders in action.

Merry Old Christmas and Happy Nalujuk Night!

This is it, the last day of the Christmas season in Newfoundland and Labrador.  After today you can take down your tree and stop mummering. But chances are there is still one big party left to go to tonight, somewhere (I'll be at one!)

One of my favourite Old Christmas Day customs is from the north coast of Labrador, where today is the day the Nalujuit come out to see who has been good, and punish those who haven't. For those of you who don't know what a Nalujuk is, they are related to mummers and janneys, but slightly more bad-ass! Like mummering on the island, the tradition seems to be enjoying something of a revival. You can learn a bit more about nalujuit below:

• Nalujuk Night on Facebook
• Nalujuit on the Mummers Festival website
• 2010 CBC Labrador Morning interview about Old Christmas  (direct MP3 link here)

What is Tibb's Eve? Drink up, Newfoundland and Labrador, it's December 23rd.

Merry Tibb's Eve all!

What is Tibb's Eve? And where does Tibb's Eve come from? We've got you covered!

Many Newfoundlanders and Labradorians don't need much of an excuse to have a party. One of the most inventive local reasons might be Tibb's (or Tib's, or Tipsy) Eve.

For those of you who don't know what Tibb's Eve is, in Newfoundland, it is the eve of Christmas Eve, and it has a somewhat complicated history that is both old and new. 

Originally, St. Tibb was a character in English plays of the 17th century. A "tibb" in those times was a woman of loose morals, so Saint Tibb was a comedic character, intended to represent an impossible contradiction. Since St. Tibb couldn't exist, St. Tibb's Eve was a day that would never come. Owe someone money? Promise to pay them back on Tibb's Eve, and no problem!

At some point, Tibb's Eve became associated with the Christmas season, as in "a day that occurred neither before nor after Christmas" or "a day between the old year and the new."

Image: Dictionary of Newfoundland English Word Form Slips - Tibb's Eve

Newfoundlanders, perhaps looking for a reason to enjoy a drink during the abstemious season of Advent, inserted this day-that-would-not-come into their personal calendars. Somewhere on the south coast of the island, sometime after WWII, the day got fixed to December 23rd. 

In the 1960s and '70s, the expression still largely meant a day that wouldn't come, but in the '80s and '90s, the day of celebratory Pre-Christmas lubrication became more popular. Circa 2009-2010, St. John's bars and arts organizations introduced the idea of Tibb's Eve events to townies. With the rise of social media, the concept took off, and ex-pat Newfoundlanders spread the cheer wherever they were hunkered down for an away Christmas. 

Thirsty for more? There are a few places online you can look for more details:

• First up is the article "The origins of Tibb’s Eve" by Paul Herridge of The Southern Gazette, which includes an interview with folklorist Dr. Philip Hiscock. https://www.saltwire.com/lifestyles/the-origins-of-tibbs-eve-172334/?location=newfoundland-labrador
• The Archival Moments blog has an entry "Tippling on Tibb’s Eve http://archivalmoments.ca/tag/tibbs-eve/
• Tip’s Eve or Tibb’s Eve? Corner Brook long-term care residents celebrate eve of Christmas Eve https://www.saltwire.com/news/local/tips-eve-or-tibbs-eve-116700/?location=corner-brook 
• Tibb's Eve on Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tibb%27s_Eve
• Last up is the Dictionary of Newfoundland English entry for "Tib's Eve" https://www.heritage.nf.ca/dictionary/a-z-index.php#5010

In the mood for a suitable libation for Tibb's Eve? Why not try Charles Dickens's Own Punch, from 1847:

Peel into a very common basin (which may be broken in case of accident, without damage to the owner's peace or pocket) the rinds of three lemons, cut very thin and with as little as possible of the white coating between the peel and the fruit, attached. Add a double handful of lump sugar (good measure [although Dickens had rather small hands]), a pint of good old rum, and a large wine-glass of good old brandy‹if it be not a large claret glass, say two. Set this on fire, by filling a warm silver spoon with the spirit, lighting the contents at a wax taper, and pouring them gently in. Let it burn three or four minutes at least, stirring it from time to time. Then extinguish it by covering the basin with a tray, which will immediately put out the flame. Then squeeze in the juice of the three lemons, and add a quart of boiling water. Stir the whole well, cover it up for five minutes, and stir again.

Enjoy the day! Have a memory of Tibb's Eve, or call it something different? Comment below!

- Dale Gilbert Jarvis

(last updated, Tibb's Eve 2020!)