This is a hard one. The idea of tradition is brought up again and again as a good reason to keep doing something in a certain way. This can be applied to so many different things, though, and perhaps it can only be examined on an individual basis.

If someone were to "black up" for a minstrel show in the states, there would most likely to be hell to pay, unless it had gone through a lot of discussion and agreement with a host of different groups, both racial and artistic, and most likely nowadays-political.

The same is true for the Passion Plays which can be seen as extremely anti-semitic, which, in their day, was never thought to be a problem.

Then again, how do we differentiate between what has become a "PC World" about relatively minor traditions like the Mummers, and compare it to other "traditions" like religious families who practice so-called "Honour Killings" ALSO based on tradition.

Yes, yes, I've taken an extreme example, but it's to make a point. The Mummers have a tradition which to them seems to be one which hurts no one, and is within a context of "folk art", but who's to be the judge here?

I'm of two minds, which is why I'm writing this. Some traditions have had their day, some are downright reprehensible, and some need to be examined as a cultural and historical item of worth, but in that context.

Good luck.

..xx..e