Wren Day is celebrated on St Stephens Day and generally comprised of a Wren being killed, attached to a pole and presented on doorsteps by Wrenboys, singing a rhyme and asking for money to pay for the funeral of the bird.
One of the feathers, which are thought to be lucky would be given to any household contributing. The tradition is now on the wane and in more modern times the wren was caught and carried unharmed in a net or box and today a fake wren is used.
The Wrenboys / Mummers celebrate the Wren and are sometimes dressed in straw outfits and masks, parading through the towns and villages playing music.
The Wrenboys sang a song that went along the lines of: “The Wren, the Wren the king of all birds on St Stephen’s Day was caught in the furze. Her clothes were all torn, her shoes were all worn. So up with the kettle and down with the pan. Give us a penny to bury the “Wran”., If you haven’t a penny a halfpenny will do. If you haven’t a halfpenny, God bless you.”
A big shout out to #DonWoods for our photo