WHEREAS, On January 1, 2015, the Philadelphia's Mummer's Parade, the nation's oldest folk parade, continues a 115-year-old tradition of entertaining Philadelphians and visitors from our nation and worldwide by parading and performing on Philadelphia's streets and the Convention Center; and
WHEREAS, Mummers are men and women of all ages who belong to more than 40 organized clubs, often called New Years Associations, that make up the 10,000 parade participants. The term mummer is German and means to costume or masquerade; and
WHEREAS, First recognized and sponsored as a City event in 1901, the Mummer's Parade continued the then century-long neighborhood tradition of celebrating in the streets on New Year's Day; and
WHEREAS, The annual tradition traces back to mid-17th Century roots, blending elements from many different heritages; and
WHEREAS, The Mummer's Parade is iconic for its unique performances by elaborately costumed and choreographed fancy divisions and brigades, the satire of the comic divisions and wench brigades and the distinctive music of the string bands; and
WHEREAS, The Mummer's Parade is so unique that any person who has ever watched the parade or pageantry can associate the sound of a Mummer's string band or the culturally distinctive Mummer's Strut with Philadelphia and the New Year's Day Mummer's Parade; and
WHEREAS, The 2015 SugarHouse Casino Mummer's Parade will feature performances by our world famous String Bands, Comic Clubs and Fancy Divisions at City Hall, while the Fancy Brigades will be performing two action-packed shows at the Pennsylvania Convention Center; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That Council does hereby recognize and honor the long tradition of the Mummer's Parade and the many Mummer's organizations and participants, past and present, for their immeasurable contribution to the City of Philadelphia.
FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented as evidence of the sincere sentiments of this legislative body.
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