Just a short distance from the Pennsylvania hamlet, the market town of Marshfield hosts one of England's most unusual and enduring folk traditions. Every Boxing Day morning, the Marshfield Mummers — known as the Paper Boys for their costumes of shredded newspaper — perform a traditional mummers' play in the main street. The play follows the ancient cycle of death and resurrection, with characters including Father Christmas, Little Man John, and King William. The tradition lapsed in the 1880s and was revived around 1930–32 by folklorist Violet Alford and her brother the Rev. C.S.L. Alford, rector of Marshfield, and it has been performed every year since. It draws crowds from across the region to watch this living piece of medieval popular culture.
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