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Strange Or Fortean Annual Celebrations

Well, that was nice! :D

I believe the next dance is at noon (BST), and the dancers will be more formally dressed.
 
rynner2 said:
Quite a few places have a tradition of a mass swim in the sea at Xmas-time or New Year..
Click to expand...

I watch the Cromer Norfolk mass swim on New Years day most years and never connected before that they're also swimming next to the submerged town of Shipden of another sunken church bell legend/ tradition that's spread across Britain :D .... a Fortean connection!.
 
Mazey Day and Golowan Festival 2014
June 20th to 29th June 2014

The Golowan festival (Cornish for midsummer) is the festival of St. John and is held in Penzance each year in late June. Although it is an old tradition, it was revived by a group of artists and local schools in 1991 in order to remember the local area heritage. The festival is ten days long, culminating in the Mazey weekend and notably Mazey Day on the Saturday.

Golowan was one of the last mid summer festivals practiced in Cornwall. In the 1890’s, the Penzance government outlawed the festival due to the rising insurance premiums for the town's business community. Traditionally the town's streets were lined with alight tar barrels which were paraded around. :D The surrounding hills had bonfires set at the top, throwing dancing shadows all around mounts bay and beyond.

The modern Golowan is arguably a little less dangerous. The celebration of the area's arts and culture attracts thousands of visitors to West Cornwall from local towns and as far as the Asian continent and further. The Golowan Festival brings around a million pounds to the local economy. The core of the celebrations is Mazey Day, when the streets are filled with market stalls and entertainers and the town's school children parade up and down Market Jew Street, setting out from St.Johns Hall, holding aloft large paper mache and wicker creations. It truly is a sight to behold, with some figures being larger than the building around them. The weekend begins with Mazey Eve and ends with the Quay Fair

http://www.westcornwallevents.co.uk/fes ... lowan.html


12 pics here:
GALLERY: Penzance Mazey Day 2014
By The Cornishman | Posted: June 28, 2014

http://www.cornishman.co.uk/pictures/GA ... tures.html
 
Well, it's 2 years since Flora day was last mentioned here, so let's update:
VIDEO: Three Flora Day 2016 videos to help you reminisce until next year
By CM_HazelMurra | Posted: May 08, 2016

FLORA Day may be over for another year but we've got just the tonic (or videos, rather) to keep you going until next year.
After filling the streets of Helston with dancing and colour, despite a lack of sunshine, it was another Flora Day to be remembered.
From little girls dancing in their white dresses to women in ballgowns, smiles filled the faces of all in the town as passes-by enjoyed the atmosphere and listened to the Helston Town Band in their blues.

Here are some of our videos from Helston's biggest day of the year.




http://www.cornishguardian.co.uk/VI...minisce-year/story-29245581-detail/story.html

This is for Sir Tel, RIP.
 
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Not particularly strange, just a village fair day, but it looks like a lot of fun, as all the pictures here show:
21 pictures from Goldsithney Charter Fair
By CMJohannaCarr | Posted: August 06, 2016

http://www.westbriton.co.uk/21-pict...charter-fair/story-29592044-detail/story.html

What is strange is that this is the first time I think I've heard of it, and something like the large Red Glove ought to stick in the mind!

I've been there a few times, and through it on the bus from Penzance many more times. (One photo shows the bus held up behind the band!)
 
On 9 August 2019, South Queensferry will play host to one of Scotland’s most unusual traditions.
A man covered head to toe in sticky burrs from local plants will be paraded through the town, where he will be given whisky at every pub.

This man is the Burryman, and his parade takes place annually at the same times as the Ferry Fair, and has done for many years.

Believed to bring the town good fortune if he is fed whisky and given money, the Burryman tradition must go on, for if it stops South Queensferry will be cursed with bad luck.

https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman....tory-of-south-queensferry-tradition-1-4974556
 
Update on Burry Man 2020. Still on.

EZLdmn6WkAAjY5E.jpg
 
I hope he has an 'escape hatch' for....er....emergencies
 
gordonrutter said:
I’m afraid he doesn’t and he goes from pub to pub drinking a shot of whisky in each…
Click to expand...
So, some good....some bad, then.

I guess it's not so bad if there only a handful of boozers in town.
It would have been hard to carry out in Hemel Hempstead Old Town 'back in the day' when (AFAIK) it held the record for the most boozers in a high street when something like 27 of the 40 or so establishments were watering holes.
(I've not done any sort of research on that but when I lived there it was a common topic up for discussion on a Friday evenings drinking, and I'm fairly sure there are still several battle-cruisers in a 200yd stretch of street.)
 
Atherstone Ball Game

This has apparently taken place every Shrove Tuesday since 1199, through wars, Black Death & so on, only missing a year through covid. The original ‘ball’ was a bag containing gold coins.

The aim of the game seems to be to have possession of the ball, fighting off every other bastard trying to grab it. The man with it when the whistle blows at the end 2 hours later gets to take it home.

Violence is practically guaranteed but killing is not allowed.
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Shop windows are boarded up ahead of the game, which takes place in the town’s main street.

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And there’s a weird statue to commemorate the event.

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