Museums

Because mumming traditions are an integral part of folk culture in many parts of Europe, some costumes and masks have become part of museum collections.

At the Ethnographical Museum in Prague, the exhibit on Czech Folk Culture features costumes from a wide variety of seasonal celebrations.

Second section of the exhibition presents folk customs, rituals and festivities of traditional calendar year – from spring (Shrovetide customs, Easter customs) through summer and autumn (Pentecostal customs, summer pilgrimages and fairs, the Thanksgiving) and finally to winter (Saint Nicholas Day, Advent masks, Christmas and New Year´s Eve traditions).

  

At the Museum of European Cultures in Berlin, terrifying Perchten masks are on display.

 

There’s also a Mummers Museum in Philadelphia that catalogues the history of their famous annual parade – a bit different from European mumming customs but still part of the same overall genre. The museum includes “costumes, oral histories, video and audio archives and even an exhibit to teach anyone how to ‘strut.'”

 

Would love to visit one of these someday, and if you know of any other museums with mumming collections, please let me know!