The Cutty Wren (Old Glory) 2015 

The ancient custom of the Cutty Wren was revived in the 1990s by Old Glory Molly Dancers of Middleton in Suffolk. It was traditional for the Hunting of the Wren to take place on Boxing Day in days gone by - this was a house-visiting custom for largesse, and a real wren was killed and paraded around accompanied by singing and dancing.
Old Glory carry a carved wooden wren on a garlanded staff from their meeting place in the village hall in a silent torchlit procession through the streets to the Bell Inn, where they dance and sing by torchlight. Old Glory perform in the Molly Dance tradition, dressing like farm labourers with disguised blackened faces.
For more information on the Cutty Wren and other British customs and traditions, visit www.calendarcus...