Mummers New Years Day Parade
by Dale H. Cotton
The mummers will once again descend on Broad Street in Philadelphia for their annual parade and competition on New Year’s Day. Local clubs gather in secret throughout the year to prepare elaborate costumes and practice the teetering mummer walk, affectionately called the “Mummer’s strut.” Its roots go way back, some say to mid-17th century, but its “blue-collar” forerunner could even be the Roman festival of Saturnalia, circa 400 B.C.E., when Latin laborers marched in masks through a day of satire, gift exchange, and a mock reversal of the social order—where the powerful (masters) exchanged places with the powerless (slaves).
I stumbled upon this parade back in 2004, when I was photographing using analog film for my series on spectacles. I plan to head back this year with digital in hand, and aim to add to my collection of photos of outlandish costumes and peculiar personas. How can you resist strutters in diapers, devils with umbrellas, or Iraqi dictators, as well as fancy costumes, choreographed dances, and crowds of adoring people?
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Devil performs the Mummer's Strut.
Elvis the Pelvis rides a float with a stone-age crew.
Saddam lives in the minds of many.
Micro-not-so-Soft complete with bugs.
"Men" in diapers bring in the New Year.
Butterfly float floats down Broad Street.
May the bluebirds of happiness take off.