"See the blazing Yule before us..." This is just one of the many ancient British folk songs we all know and love. Other tunes and symbols that tug on our memories have similar historical roots, hearkening back to a shared Pagan past. These dances, songs, and theatrical plays in the English folk tradition are now little known to most of the modern Pagan community. Reviving these vital traditions can bring new life to Renaissance festivals, neopagan rituals, and community events.
Introducing the lively music and homegrown entertainments of times long past, this descriptive how-to is designed for twenty-first-century joviality. The songs, dances, and plays of old are explained in their mythical, seasonal, and historical significance and outlined for easy reenactment. Simple-to-follow instructions detail six dances including the popular Abbots Bromley Horn dance, six full scripts for dramatic performances of Mummer's Plays (folk plays of death and rebirth), and over thirty songs with lyrics and music. Kick up your heels, hold high your skirts, and make merry the year through.
Maypole dancing is community celebration of Beltane, from the youngest to the oldest. However, it is often difficult for little legs to keep up with the adults, and young children tend to tucker out long before they can weave their ribbon around an often ten- or twelve-foot Maypole. What can be done to ensure that kids get as much enjoyment about of the community Beltane celebration of Maypole dancing? Bronwen Forbes, author of Make Merry in Step and Song, details how to make Maypole dances fun for all.
1. Your new book, Make Merry in Step and Song, is a compendium of historic music, dances, and mummer’s plays. Why do such things elicit joy in people? The easy answer is: because they’re fun! All of us have an inner kid who likes to put on a costume and pretend to be Robin Hood or some other hero of legend! On a deeper level, these folk activities touch something very deep, very...
We all have our own interpretations and honoring of the four elemental quadrants. Some of us enter our Circles in the East, direction of dawn and new beginnings. Others prefer to start in the North, that their working be well grounded and strong. At Samhain, we open a gate in the West, the direction of the Ancestors and of the Land Beyond, and we... read this article
