Festivals
There is a long tradition of processional dance and music in Cornwall. The best known tradition is the Helston Furry. The term 'furry' is used generally to describe such a dance or associated tune. These bands have been referred to as 'crowders and horners' and generally have a motley mix of instruments with folk instruments such as the fiddle, bagpipe or crowdy crawn mixed up with brass, reed and anything that can be carried.
Padstow 'Obby 'Oss festival takes place on 1 May, the feast of Beltane to Celtic people.
Golowan festival in Penzance, which was revived in 1991, was part of a much wider tradition of midsummer festivals where bonfires were lit on hilltops on Midsummer's Eve. The tradition of midsummer bonfires continues, albeit to a lesser extent than when fires could be seen on every hilltop, throughout Cornwall.
Lowender Perran is held at the end of October in Perranporth. This is a gathering of musicians and dancers from the six Celtic nations.
Historically Cornwall has had close links with Brittany and this is reflected in the music. The Cornish and Breton languages were mutually intelligible until Tudor times and there were many Bretons living in Cornwall before the Prayer Book Rebellion. Myths, saints, dances and tunes are often shared with Brittany. It has been noted that The Kroaz Du (Black Cross) flag used in medieval Brittany is the exact inverse of the Cornish flag, whether there is a reason for this is unknown. Breton flags are popular in Cornwall and are often seen alongside the Cornish flag on car bumpers and at musical events. This link continues today with Cornish-Breton festivals such as 'AberFest' in Falmouth (Aberfal) and the twinning of Cornish and Breton towns.
The Gorseth Kernow (or gorsedh), which was set up in 1928, is similar to the Welsh Gorsedd, and indeed was formed by the Welsh Gorsedd at the request of Henry Jenner. The Cornish Gorseth promotes the arts and the Cornish language through competitions at the open gorseth.
Read more about this topic: Culture Of Cornwall
Famous quotes containing the word festivals:
“Why wont they let a year die without bringing in a new one on the instant, cant they use birth control on time? I want an interregnum. The stupid years patter on with unrelenting feet, never stopping—rising to little monotonous peaks in our imaginations at festivals like New Year’s and Easter and Christmas—But, goodness, why need they do it?”
—John Dos Passos (1896–1970)
“This is certainly not the place for a discourse about what festivals are for. Discussions on this theme were plentiful during that phase of preparation and on the whole were fruitless. My experience is that discussion is fruitless. What sets forth and demonstrates is the sight of events in action, is living through these events and understanding them.”
—Doris Lessing (b. 1919)