Mumming troupes used to travel the land back in the very olden days. Mumming has it's roots in the tree-worshipping of the peoples who inhabited great regions of the forested Europe now long gone.
Mumming involves a group of performers who dress up in masks (sometimes made of straw) and clothes with ribbons or rags streaming from them. They set out on a procession to neighbouring homes, singing songs and carrying bracnches of greenery. It is a rite associated with springtime and fertility.