Furry Dance facts for kids
The Furry Dance is a super old and famous custom that happens every year in Helston, a town in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It's one of the oldest traditions in Britain that people still do today! People from all over the world come to watch it. The amazing Helston Town Band plays all the music for the dances.
The Furry Dance always happens on May 8th. If May 8th is a Sunday or a Monday (because Monday is Market Day), then the dance happens on the Saturday before. In Helston, May 8th is also called Flora Day. The word "furry" might come from the Cornish word "fer," which means "fair" or "feast." It's a big party to celebrate winter ending and spring arriving!
Here's how the day usually goes:
- A morning dance at 7 a.m.
- The Hal-an-Tow pageant starts around 8:30 a.m.
- The children's dance is usually around 9:40 a.m. or 9:50 a.m.
- The main midday dance at noon.
- An evening dance at 5 p.m.
The midday dance is probably the most well-known. It used to be for the important people in town. Today, the men wear fancy top hats and long coats called tails, while the women wear their best dresses.
Traditionally, the dancers wear lily of the valley flowers, which are Helston's special flower. Men wear the flower on their left side, pointing up. Ladies wear it on their right side, pointing down. People who were born in Helston, along with the dancers, band members, and helpers, all wear lily of the valley on Flora Day.
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Children's Dance
The children's dance is a huge part of the day, with over 1,000 kids taking part! They are usually between 7 and 18 years old. All the children wear white clothes. The boys have lily of the valley flowers pinned to their jackets. The girls wear flowers in their hair. The type of flower depends on which school they go to.
The children come from St Michael's School, Nansloe School, Parc Eglos School, and Helston Community College. Each year, a different school gets to lead the dance.
Boys wear ties in their school colors. Girls wear flowers that match their school colors:
- St Michael's: Blue cornflowers
- Helston Community College: Forget-me-nots
- Nansloe: Daisies
- Parc Eglos: Poppies and buttercups
The girls wear white dresses that follow their school's rules, and boys wear white shirts and trousers or shorts. They all dance together through the streets of Helston, with the band playing the music.
Hal-an-Tow Pageant
The Hal-an-Tow is a special show that happens on the same day as the Furry Dance. It's like a play with different stories from history and old myths. The Hal-an-Tow Pageant starts at St John's Bridge and is performed in seven different spots around the town.
Some of the characters you might see include Friar Tuck, Robin Hood, Saint George, and Saint Michael. The Hal-an-Tow song celebrates the arrival of summer. It also mentions the Spanish in a way that probably refers to a Spanish attack on Newlyn in 1595.
The meaning of "Hal-an-Tow" isn't totally clear. Some people think "kalann" (which means the first of the month in Cornish) might be part of it. Others have suggested it means "raise the roof." In Helston, "tow" rhymes with "cow." One idea is that Hal-an-Tow means "the eve of the fattening time."
The Hal-an-Tow song, as it's sung in Helston today, has verses that welcome summer, mention Robin Hood, talk about St. Piran (who brought Christianity to Cornwall), and praise St. George and St. Michael. A verse about Saint Michael was added in the 1930s, and a verse about Saint Piran was added in 2005.
Music for the Dance
The music for the Furry Dance is played by the Helston Town Band. Other local musicians often join them. It's said that the music for the dance has never been written down, and the band plays it from memory. However, it was written down at different times, for example, by Davies Gilbert in 1823. In 1890, a Cornish historian named Margaret Ann Courtney wrote that the tune was sometimes called "John the Bone." Children in the area often sang a little rhyme with the tune:
John the Bone was walking home,
When he met with Sally Dover,
He kissed her once,
He kissed her twice,
And kissed her three times over.
The BBC even recorded the band playing for the dance on May 8, 1943!
"The Floral Dance" Song
In 1911, a composer from London named Katie Moss visited Helston and saw the Furry Dance. She even joined in the dancing herself in the evening! On her train ride home, she wrote a song about her experience and called it "The Floral Dance". In the song's music, she used parts of the actual Furry Dance tune.
This song was published soon after and first performed by a singer named Thorpe Bates. The first recording was made in 1912 by Peter Dawson. Many other artists have recorded it since then.
In 1976, the Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band recorded their own version of Katie Moss's song. It became super popular by Christmas 1977, selling half a million copies! It was almost the number one song on the charts, but Paul McCartney's "Mull of Kintyre" just beat it. In January 1978, a singing version by Terry Wogan also became popular, reaching number 21 on the UK singles chart.
Similar Customs Around the World
There are other customs that are similar to the Furry Dance in different places. For example, in Biewer, Germany, they have an annual "Schärensprung" dance. There's also a similar event in Echternach, Luxembourg.
Closer to Helston, there are similarities with the 'Obby 'Oss festival in Padstow, Cornwall, and with events in Minehead, Somerset, and Combe Martin in Devon. Another Flora Dance happens in Fowey, Cornwall, during its annual Regatta Week in August.
See also
- Outline of Cornwall
