Morris Dancers in the UK

One of the excursions we made on our last visit to England was going to Stratford Upon Avon, well known, of course, as Shakespeare’s town. We came across some street dancers with some unusual attire. These strangely clad men, waving handkerchiefs and sticks, with bells jingling from their clothing are called the Morris Dancers. Popular all over England, we learn that the origins of this tradition are lost in time, but the ritual goes back well over 500 years.
The black faced dancers we saw were colorfully dressed with fabric strips and handkerchiefs sewn all over their clothing and gave their performance with the accompaniment of accordion music to the tune of "Oh Susannah." They've been merrily dancing with their blackened faces for 200 years but recently, because of political correctness, they might be forced to abandon darkening their faces. We’re not sure if the feathers in the hats has any particular meaning!