Required activities in Cornwall to make sure the sun comes back after the longest night #montol

The sun is celebrated at the moment of it's greatest weakness and then burned as if we dare it not to return after the solstice.
The social order is overturned: we cross dress, become animal hybrids; posh frocks & frock coats, rags & tatters confuse our class & we're all masked - hidden selves.
The New Year itself is celebrated almost as a wooden christ child - a gift of hope for the coming months & then burned as a spell to make our dreams come true.
#penzance, #montol, #festival, #solstice

Act 3.
The Chalking of the Mock - at the end of the evening the baby New Year, represented by a mock, a Cornish Yule Log, is carefully delivered (by a Cornish Father Christmas Midwife) to the sea front where a member of the crowd is chosen to chalk it and then it is committed to the flames of a brazier.
And then the serious business of drinking and dancing begins.
In some ways none of it makes sense. And that's the point. The world is turned upside down.
#penzance, #montol, #festival, #solstice

Act Two.
The Revels - Guize Dancing - back in the centre of town the pubs host Cornish Carols, dancing, crude dramas, role-playing, mock funerals, endless silliness - and the streets are full of people singing and dancing. Everything is loud, vibrant, boisterous, even frightening & above all, fun - at the darkest time of the year.
photo by Jory Mundy
#penzance, #montol, #festival, #solstice

The evening has 3 main acts.
The Progress of the Sun - costumed and masked like some gothic, handmade fairy-tale version of Venice Carnival, we escort a lantern of the sun resplendent, led by the Raffidy Dumitz Band, through the town to a recreation ground high above the bay, where it is burned on a bonfire while a mesmerised crowd slowly turns in a halting circle dance as the flames roar, hissing in the rain.
photo by Greg Martin
#penzance, #montol, #festival, #solstice

You know how it is: went to the pub for a pint - came away with a winter festival.
A huge public meeting - everyone excited and keen and at the end you ask for volunteers ... and there's a scattering of chairs & a mad rush ... and there are 5 of you left ... and the pub's deserted. And you have to get to know each other and then make it up as you go along.
And it is going to happen & it's going to be good.
photo by Greg Martin
#penzance, #montol, #festival, #solstice

Montol Winter Solstice celebration in Penzance, Cornwall. It’s been a wonderful experience to see both sides of this annual festival in my hometown this year. The various Oss & guise beasts appeared throughout the night with people serpent dance in between at times. #folklore #wintersolstice #cornwall #montol

A whole lot of weird can happen in a week. Yesterday in Penzance we celebrated the Winter Solstice with Montol festival. Now if you told me I’d be inhabiting the Oss Pen Hood I’d of laughed, didn’t see that one coming at all. Absolutely grateful beyond words. It was great to do the start and finishing appearances whilst still having some time for my own photos in between. #montol #wintersolstice #cornwall
(Image via Stones of Kernow on Insta)

A few snaps from yesterday's #Montol Festival in #Penzance, #Cornwall. My favorite way to welcome the #WinterSolstice. The festival is a revival or reinterpretation of many of the traditional #Cornish midwinter customs & #Christmas traditions formerly practiced in and around the Penzance area. #folklore More pics in comments.