Mummers: The Other New Year's Day Parade

I grew up in Eastern Pennsylvania. Every New Year's morning my family joined millions of others around the nation watching the annual Tournament of Roses parade on television. But after that parade ended, we'd switch over to watch the rest of the Mummer's Parade from Philadephia. I always assumed that both parades were televised nationally. It wasn't until after I began spending my New Years Days here in Maryland that I became aware of the fact that the Mummers Parade was not a nationally televised event.

For those not familiar with the Mummers Parade, it has been held in one form or another in Philadelphia since the 1870s. Marchers are broken down into three major groups, the Fancies, the Comics, and the String Bands. All wear custom-designed costumes with fancy plumage and the various groups all dress to a particular theme, which changes each year.

Here are the t-shirt stores for some of the Mummers groups:


Fralinger String Band Store


Woodlands String Band Store

If you want more information about America's other New Years Parade, check out the Philadelphia Mummers Parade official website.

Happy 2006, Everybody!

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