Molly dancing is really fun to watch, and if you’re curious, you can actually try it yourself at the Whittlesea Straw Bear festival in Cambridgeshire this January Sofia Monarchi with permission for Varsity
As Michaelmas term wraps up, loads of students head off on the Varsity trip aiming to hit the slopes for skiing or snowboarding – winter sports that sadly aren’t really possible here in the UK. Cambridge doesn’t have mountains, and most winters don’t bring much snow, so anyone wanting a proper snowy sport usually has to travel abroad. But for folks like me who can’t spare the time or money to jet off to the Alps, there are some cool local winter traditions worth checking out.
“Should the ice crack, the only danger is getting soggy feet”
Fen skating is a special kind of ice skating tied to East Anglia and named after the Fens where it happens. Unlike many parts of Britain where lakes rarely freeze enough for safe skating, Cambridge’s geography gives a different option. The area around Cambridge is flat with meadows and rivers that flood easily. When it gets cold enough, these flooded fens freeze over into smooth sheets of ice. And here’s something interesting – if the ice cracks while you’re skating, all you risk is wet feet; no danger of falling through deep water like on big frozen lakes. Also, because of how these fens work, they tend to freeze quicker and more often than other places.
“The joy of this particular sport is its simplicity and accessibility”
In chilly winters people would make simple skates themselves and glide over these icy fields. This goes way back-at least as far as medieval times-when skates made from sharpened animal bones were found. Later on metal blades became popular; these could be tied onto shoes or even screwed into boots. Fen skating was at its peak in the 1800s when races were common and attracted crowds who enjoyed watching them compete for prizes like money, food or clothes put together by match organisers. Local newspapers often reported results too, making some racers quite well-known for their skills. Although warmer winters have made fen skating less frequent now than before, what makes it great is how easy it is to get involved – whether by making your own skates or just enjoying watching others.
The main drawback with fen skating is obviously needing cold enough weather but even when it’s not freezing there’s another old local tradition called Molly dancing. It’s a type of Morris dance from East Anglia that started with ploughboys during winter when farming wasn’t possible because frozen ground stopped work. To earn some cash over Christmas they’d dress up (often with one or more guys dressed as women) and perform dances hoping for tips. That cross-dressing might explain why this style got called ‘Molly’ dancing. They also painted their faces maybe both to hide who they were since some saw it as begging plus disguising themselves while dressed up.
This tradition got revived in the 1970s but few original dances had been recorded so nowadays many modern Molly dances are rebuilt using bits of info left behind-and new ones added too-that try to copy aristocratic styles including moving along lines and mirroring partners’ moves. The tunes are pretty straightforward too so people can learn them by ear on instruments like accordion or tin whistle easily which means Molly dancing stays open for anyone wanting a go at dancing or music-making alike! Modern groups perform all year but lots still do something special on Plough Monday-the start of farming season-and Boxing Day which used to be traditional days for dancing too. Even if you don’t want to join in playing music or dancing yourself Molly dancing makes a great show and if you’re interested you can see it live at Cambridgeshire’s Whittlesea Straw Bear festival coming up this January.
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