Thanks for that explanation Dave the gnome. I see even more clearly now that the Philadelphia Mummers and the UK Mummers are differnt cultural performances.

After reading your description of your Mummers play, I have some   questions that I want to ask with no offense meant: I'm assuming that St. George is not blackened up right? Also I'm assuming that the Black Prince and [maybe] the King of Egypt do wear black face. Given those assumptions, besides for the great importance of tradition,
why is it that the Black Prince is the one who is always killed?
And you said that the King of Egypt calls on Hector. St George fights and wounds Hector. Does the king of Egypt get killed off or does a Black character ever win or be considered a good guy?

It seems to me that this could have psycho-social implications particularly here in the US with so many media, educational and other institutions biased against people of African descent and other people of color. For instance, I was an adult before I learned that there were {and are} African kings.

Maybe your systems aren't as biased against people of color as those in the United States...I don't know. The fact that only a few people see these plays instead of millions via the wonders of TV doesn't mitigate my belief that there may be unintended ramifications for those viewing the plays... As an example, is it possible that these plays unwittingly reinforce the belief that "White is always right"?

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Also, please excuse my inadvertant inclusion of the sentence fragments in my last post that assert my belief that the Mummers parade in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was held on Thanksgiving Day.
It turns out that I was mixing up memories of two differnt parades. Philadelphia hosts a televised parade on Thanksgiving Day and there is also a Mummers Parade that is also televised on New Years Day.
By googling I learned that the Thanksgiving Day parade in Philadelphia, PA is the USA's oldest Thanksgiving day parade. It was started by Gimbel's {department stores}in 1920...

Also, since I mentioned my dislike of banjo music, as a means of showing respect to my ancestors, may I also take this opportunity to post that the banjo is an instrument that comes from Africa.
If interested, you can visit a UK website http://home.freeuk.com/gazkhan/banjo.htm for a sound clip and information on this. One excerpt from that is:

"The best mention of its importation into America is that by Thomas Jefferson, in his 'Notes on America' 1781. "The instrument.....is the banjar, which they brought hither from Africa." In its early period it was know by many names including the aforementioned banjar as well as bangie, bangoe, banjil, banshaw, and banza."
end of quote

If I understand you correctly, there are no banjos in UK Mummer plays... Interesting how customs changed when they crossed the ocean, met up with, and intermingled with other traditions...