Thankfully, although it was very cold the fog had lifted by the Saturday - the day of Tenbury Mistletoe Festival. I've been keen to go to this for years and when D heard about it he wanted to go too.
Tenbury Wells has been linked to the sale of mistletoe at Christmas time for over 100 years. Although all of Herefordshire and Worcestershire were once involved in the trade Tenbury was the only town to hold mistletoe auctions. The auction used to he held at the cattle market in Tenbury but once that closed it is now held at nearby Little Hereford.
I don't think there has been a Festival for the last few years but this year it returned.
I spotted these relevant symbols on a car in the car park.
There were bundles of mistletoe hanging from most buildings in the town.
Mistletoe was revered by the Druids and used on their altars and in ceremonies. People originally hung mistletoe in their homes to give protection from injury, fire etc and to drive away evil spirits. It was used in cowsheds to encourage the livestock to be healthy. Apparently it is never seen inside a church.
The stalls were in 3 different areas - the Pumprooms, the Buttercross and in the market place by Tesco. We couldn't see the stalls very easily in the pumprooms as there was a group singing.
Plants for sale outside the farmshop.
There were stalls inside and outside the Buttercross. There were some lovely Christmas wreaths which I was tempted to buy for the front door but I decided in the end it wouldn't be that easy to bring home and I didn't fancy walking round the Festival carrying it!
I was hoping there might be a Christmas Tree Festival in the church but I couldn't see any signs of one and there was no mention of it on their website.
I liked this horseshoe reindeer at one of the stalls by Tesco.
More of those horrid sprayed little trees - this time being sold by Tesco :(
Teme House by the river and near Tesco had various mistletoe bunches for sale so we did buy one of these.
We then realised we had about 90 minutes to wait before the Morris Dancing display and it was freezing cold. Oh for the days before covid when we would just have gone for a pub lunch. We did have a look round some shops and D bought several items for Christmas. We bought a pasty and coffee and ate these outside a shop.
Finally the time passed and we returned to the market square where the town crier announced the morris dancers.
I am not sure who the lady represents - a Holly Queen?? but oh look great excitement to see the Mari Lwyd. The grey mare or Grey Mary is connected with the tradition of wassailing especially in Wales. The tradition involves a hobby horse made from a horse skull mounted on a pole and carried by a person hidden under a sackcloth.
The Mari Lwyd/Wassailing ceremony is very similar to Engish mumming and it is believed it originated from pagan rites which welcomed the sun's return after the winter solstice. The horse became connected to wassailing in the Middle Ages and the church may possibly have adoped it to commemorate the purification of the Virgin Mary.
After the Morris Dancing there was a Mistletoe Ceremony involving a modern druid and other characters. Sorry the photos aren't brilliant but I couldn't get close as there were too many people trying to do the same.
This was followed by a procession which we didn't go on as for me it was too peopley and by now we were all feeling very cold.
The mistletoe we bought is now hanging in the porch at home.
There were other events in the morning which we missed such as the crowning of the Mistletoe Queen.
We came home on the Sunday and then, as mentioned previously, B and I rushed back on Tuesday to stay just one night and close down the caravan for the winter.
I hope everyone is staying safe and well.
All photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera. D's photos were better but instead of copying them onto a hard drive he cut and pasted them so I haven't been able to access them. (I don't particularly rate my photos but if anyone wishes to use one of mine or my son's I would be grateful for an email first - thanks).
Reference: Reader's Digest book on Folklore, Myths and Legends of Britain
9 comments:
Gosh, I bet you were shrammed by the time you finally got back to the car. Thank you for getting cold on our behalf, so we can enjoy your day out. I'd have loved to have gone to that too, but a bit far from here in winter. Loved the photos of the mummers and all the displays of mistletoe and greenery.
All together, a very interesting blog with you today, Caroline. I want to say so much about so many of the things, but I'm sure I'm going to miss things out. I wonder what group the Morris dancers are? I used to follow one on Twitter. That's before I lost my account, obviously. Interesting and exciting to see the Mari Lwyd too. I would love to attend a mistletoe fair. I've seen them so many times on television. You were really fortunate to go. And it's in such a lovely town too, and so many lovely details that you've shared with us. That door with the hobnail effect on it, is superb. I'm sure there's a proper name other than hobnail. And a little plaque with the Hedgehog, all the mistletoe motifs. A very lovely blog altogether, especially seasonal at this time of year.
Bovey Belle - Thanks so much. Shattered and frozen is how I would describe myself afterwards! Sorry its too far for you - we are fortunate in that Tenbury is only 20 minutes away. I read about the Festival years and years ago so it was a joy to finally be able to go.
Rustic Pumpkin - Thanks so much. I am not sure of the name of the Morris Dancer group but I am sure they were different to the ones we saw in Bromyard earlier this year. Yes I do count myself as fortunate to have been able to go as I remember reading about it years ago and wanting to attend. I wish I knew more about the history of the ceremony that took place at the end and who the characters were. Not sure what technical name for hobnail door is either! I think the garden at Teme House may be a sort of sensory garden. It was a shame Emily couldn't come but she couldn't have the time of work. I would certainly go again. David in his element as he loves myths, folklore and legends!
What a super day. Your photos are wonderful. I'd have loved to have been there to see it all. Hope you soon warmed up after you got back to your caravan. I expect the only really warm people were the dancers. Glad you bought some mistletoe to take home. I remember seeing a Morris group in Peterborough with a horse. The most unusual ones I've seen were in Middleham, Yorkshire:)
Rosie - Thanks so much. I am so glad we were able to go. We should have either gone earlier in the morning or later in the afternoon not at mid-day inbetween the events! I do like watching Morris Dancers :)
I enjoyed reading about mistletoe history.
It sounds like you had a fabulous day :-)
CherryPie - Thank you.
Sounds like a fun event and worth visiting, despite the cold. It’s been a long time since I saw any Morris Dancing! It used to be so common when I was a kid. Of course I thought it was really old fashioned once I was a teenager, whereas now I would find it fun and interesting. How we change!
Shame the caravan is closed up now though, nowhere to escape to for several months.
Millymollymandy - Thanks so much. I quite agree how one changes one views on things like morris dancing once the teen years are past!!!
Yes it is going to be a long long 10 weeks. The site is still open but we winterised it earlier than planned due to that week or more of really cold well below freezing temps.
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