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The rushcart ceremony, derives from Rogationtide. Parishioners would process around the parish once a year, bearing rushes. They would end up at the parish church and place the rushes on the floor of the church, to replace worn-out rushes. In modern times the ceremony is practised only in parts of northern England including Lancashire and Cumbria among others. ==History== (詳細はTavistock. The custom of strewing cut vegetation on the floors of churches began at an earlier date: the plants commonly used were hay, straw or rushes and together with strewing herbs they improved the comfort for those using the church. Before the Reformation churches served for many secular as well as religious purposes and seating was not usual until the early years of the 16th century. Renewal of the floor covering was usually carried out before major festivals such as Easter and the patronal festival. Since these were among the few times in the year available for merrymaking ceremonies grew up and were handed down by tradition.〔Gascoigne, Margaret (2002) ''Discovering English Customs and Traditions''. Prince's Risborough: Shire ISBN 0-7478-0377-3; pp. 8, 16, 18, 24, 35, 44, 66〕 As towns grew in size, the places where rushes still grew were further and further from the church itself. Also changes in the way churches were furnished such as box pews and in the 19th century more effective heating in churches made the ceremonies redundant. The ceremonies either lapsed, or became longer and larger. The earliest depictions of rushcarts are in ''Rush-Bearing'' (1891) by Burton. One illustration shows morris dancers and a rushcart at Failsworth Pole, near Manchester, about 1820. Another, from 1821, is a painting by Alexander Wilson of an event at Long Millgate, Manchester.〔Wilson, Alexander ("Rush Bearing at Long Millgate, Manchester" ), 1821, Sphinx Fine Art. Retrieved on 2011-01-14.〕 They now appear to be confined to the north west of England. At least 5 rushbearing ceremonies still occur in Cumbria where girls dressed in green process around the town. The Rushcart grew into a festival held on the annual wakes week or mill holidays. There would be music, dancing and other entertainments. Each village would try to outdo the others by building a bigger or more elaborate structure with the front covered by a sheet decorated with tinsel and artificial flowers and hung with polished copper, brass and silver household items.
The coming of the railways led to a decline in interest in Rushcarts as the local population were able to travel further afield for their annual break. The Rushcarts eventually died out in the early 20th century. There is a curious similarity between this festival and the Hindu festival of the chariot of Jagannath. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Rushcart」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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