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Mummers Museum
Thousands of Philadelphians spend the whole year practicing dance and band routines and constructing extravagant feather and sequin-adorned costumes for one day of glory: the Mummers Parade, held on New Year’s Day.
Those who miss the excitement can still experience this singular tradition at the Mummers Museum, which preserves the uniforms, songs and memorabilia of the past and explains the customs of the Mummers clubs.
The costumes steal the show: the playful, sometimes goofy rag-tags of the Comics, the gaudy sequin-festooned uniforms of the String Bands, and the often-massive feathered constructions of the Brigades and Fancy Division.
Visitors can push buttons to compose their own Mummers medley and learn the Mummers Strut; filmed highlights of past parades are shown on a large screen.
The Mummers Museum preserves memorabilia of the past and explains the customs of the Mummers clubs.
One of the many small museums left as a legacy of the 1976 Bicentennial celebration, the Mummers Museum celebrates a centuries-old Philadelphia tradition, which can be traced back to English settlers who brought to the Colonies their Christmastime custom of dressing in costume and performing pantomimes.
The Mummers Parade started in South Philadelphia on New Year’s Day 1901 and has grown into an elaborate 10,000-person, all-day affair.
Kids get to bop on a glockenspiel, one of the essential instruments in a string band, play “Oh, Dem Golden Slippers” and learn to strut like a native Mummer.
The Visit Philly Overnight Package — booked more than 190,000 times since 2001 — comes with free hotel parking (worth up to $100 in Center City Philadelphia) and overnight hotel accommodations.