The Straw Bear and its guideThe Whittlesey (Whittlesea) Straw Bear Festival is an old tradition from a small area of the Fens. This local event happens over one weekend every January in the small Fenland town of Whittlesey and includes the Straw Bear parade / dancing / music / poetry reading and storytelling.
Origins
No one really knows the exact date this custom started however it is believed that Straw Bear Tuesday originated in ceremonies recalling pagan fertility rites which was often associated with the beginning of spring ploughing.
The custom goes as follows: the day after Plough Monday (Plough Monday being the first Monday after Twelfth Night) – Plough Tuesday a plough boy would be dressed in straw and paraded through the streets of Whittlesey. A local newspaper from 1882 describes the following: “taken around the town to entertain, by his frantic and clumsy gestures the locals, who had on the previous day, given the plough Men a spread of beer, tobacco and beef”
The Straw Bear was made to dance in front of houses and gifts of money or beer and food for later consumption was expected. The festival was so highly regarded that farmers would often keep their best straw for the making of the bear.
This custom fell into decline at the end of the 19th century: with the last sighting being in 1909. It appears that an over-zealous police inspector banned 'Straw Bears' as he felt it was “a form of cadging which resulted in bad behaviour and prison sentences for some miscreants”.
What is Plough Monday?
Plough Monday was recognised as early as the 1400’s and at that time it was often connected with raising parish funds through the church.
As stated earlier Plough Monday is the first Monday after Twelfth Night and was an important ritual in the east of England for agricultural workers as it provided an opportunity for the agricultural workers to make some money at a very difficult time of year.
In medieval times ploughboys were supposed to return to work on Plough Monday as this was the start of the new ploughing season however rather than returning to work the plough was paraded through the streets – the aim of this was to extort money from the wealthy landowners.
Exploits of the farm workers varied and this was mainly dependent upon the area of the country the farm workers were from.
Molly Dancers / Morris Dancers
Molly dancing is associated with Plough Monday. Between Christmas and the beginning of the spring ploughing season the ploughboy would be, in the main, out of work and to earn an income the ploughboys would tour around to village landowners and offer to dance for money. Landowners who refused to pay would be penalised (punished) in various ways – one of which was to have a furrow ploughed across the offender’s garden.
As the dancers would want to gain employment with the same landowners shortly afterwards (during the spring ploughing season) the ploughboys would try to hide their identities. They did this by blacking their faces with soot and dressing up in an adapted version of their Sunday Best (these were typically clothes saved to wear on a Sunday / to go to church only). Their adapted clothes were usually black garments that were decorated with brightly coloured scarves. Originally this was an all-male tradition however one of the members would dress up as a woman – the Molly.
Gogmagog Molly
Pig Dyke Molly
Gogmagog Molly Pig Dyke Molly
Morris dancing is English folk dancing that is usually accompanied by music. Morris dancing is based on “rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers” The dancers also wield implements such as: swords / sticks and handkerchiefs during the dance. The dancer’s footwear is usually clogs and wear bells on their costume usually at the knee and therefore whenever the dancers move the bells ring. As with Molly dancers some Morris dancers blacken their faces. This again was an all-male tradition.
Red Leicester Morris 
The Kings Morris
There are differing styles of Morris dancing and these are:
*Today, there are six predominant styles of Morris dancing, and different dances or traditions within each style named after their region of origin.
· Cotswold Morris: dances from an area mostly in Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire; an established misnomer, since the Cotswolds overlap this region only partially. Normally danced with handkerchiefs or sticks to accompany the hand movements.
· North West Morris: more military in style and often processional.
· Border Morris from the English-Welsh border: a simpler, looser, more vigorous style, normally danced with blackened faces (or sometimes otherwise coloured, given the negative connotations for some of blackface).
*Above information found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morris_dance
Revival
This old Straw Bear custom was revived in 1980 by the “Whittlesey Society” and for the first time in over seventy years a “Straw Bear” was seen on the streets of Whittlesey accompanied by his attendant keeper. Also in attendance were musicians and dancers - about 30 in total were involved in the first year of the revival. Public houses were visited around the town as fitting places for the “Bear” and dancers to perform in front of an audience with the added bonus of much needed refreshment available J
The Bear is constructed in a more practical way today with the straw being fixed to a suitable garment and the head supported on a metal frame on the shoulders. This allows for the costume to be removable which is very important as the costume weighs about five stones (approximately 32kgs / 70lbs). Also due to the length of the processional route and the time taken it is necessary to have two people “driving the bear”.
The parade now involves over 250 dancers / musicians and performers from different parts of Britain. They perform traditional Molly / Morris / Clog and Sword dances and there is also American style Appalachian dancing / street performances / Mummers plays / poetry reading and storytelling. A decorated plough pulled through the town by a local Morris side is now customary and an important part of the parade.
Festivities usually start on the Friday evening and continue through until Sunday. The “Straw Bear Parade” happens on the Saturday with the parade starting in front of the Ivy League Club (an establishment that sells alcohol) and ending outside the George Hotel for the closing ceremony. And finally the “Bear Burning” happens on the Sunday - the reasoning behind this is that it leaves the way open for a new bear to be created from the next season's harvest.
Friendships Formed
In 1999 the Straw Bear made friends with a German Straw Bear from Walldürn near Frankfurt - a town in Germany that celebrates its own Straw Bear Festival. Their Straw Bear Festival is held on the Monday before Shrove Tuesday.
Other Information
If you cannot attend the Straw Bear Festival in January you can visit Whittlesey Museum where you will find a life size model of the Straw Bear – for further information about Whittlesey Museum check out:
For more detailed information about Plough Monday – the website to check out is: http://www.ploughmonday.co.uk/
For general information about the town of Whittlesey – go to:
And finally the dates for the 2013 Straw Bear Festival – 11th-13th January 2013
Written by: Andria Owen
Written by: Andria Owen
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