Why the past tense, AR282? Mumming is still alive in England and Ireland (also souling and pace-egging) with many traditional teams and lots of revival teams.It's more often performed in more public places than kitchens these days. The villain doesn't always wear black face- sometimes the whole cast is painted or masked- aand sometimes the villain is more chivalrous than the hero.

I'm not sure of it's survival in mainland Europe but there is a Polish equivalent called the Calusari. In the Carribean and Africa they have Jokkonu or John Canoe.