HUMP DAY HISTORY!

In my last post, I showed a video of "Morris Dancing" taking place in downtown Worthing.  I had never seen or heard about it before, so I thought I'd do a little research about this British tradition for the blog!

Morris Dancing

As you can see from the video, it's a folk dancing tradition involving rhythmic steps and movement, often involving bells, scarves, sticks, and even swords.  It's usually accompanied by drums, singing/chanting, and wind instruments.

The term and style derived in the 15th century from "Moorish dancing," a nod to the celebrations that took place when the Catholic monarchs drove the Moors out of Spain.  In addition to becoming popular as court entertainment, it also became a traditional way of celebrating the Spring and Summer festivals.  Different communities across the country developed their own unique styles to the tradition over the years.

During the rise of Puritanism, Morris Dancing became seen as "pagan and ungodly" and fell out of favor with the reigning monarchs.  It was eventually outlawed under Oliver Cromwell's political influence.  Even after it was re-legalized during the Restoration period, it began to fade from popularity.

In the late 19th century and early 20th century, a handful of English folklore enthusiasts breathed new life into Morris Dancing and revived its tradition within British culture.  Morris Dancing is as quintessentially English as fish & chips and red phone boxes, but not widely known amongst outsiders such as myself.   In any event, it seems to cheerfully ring in the summer season and connecting us to historical pastimes--before TV, video games, and all that indoor stuff. 


ye old morris dancing

 Some good news on the job front--I got an interview for next week! It seems like a great opportunity, so I'm looking for to it (but nervous at the same time!)  I have to do another PowerPoint so I've been working hard on that and studying all I can about social care policy and trying to send out a few more resumes in between--just in case  :-)  Just getting an interview gives me a bit of a boost anyway!

RANDOM STORY
Yesterday I was having lunch with my sister-in-law and she noticed that as a car drove by a perfectly good book was thrown from the car.  I went to investigate and found a novel with a receipt in it.  Someone had just purchased it 20 minutes prior.  I still don't understand how it got thrown into the street.  Well I didn't fancy the book so I went into Waterstones (the book store) and exchanged the book for one I wanted:

Friggin hilarious.  I've nearly finished it already! I have a bit of an obsession with this guy right now.  YouTube his name or "An Idiot Abroad" and you might be mesmerized, too.  Just looking at his mug is making me giggle.

Right, that is all for now.  Hope everyone has a good second half of the week!

A