I know there's a tradition of mummers in Ireland that has to do with Christmas, but they seem from what little I know to bear more resemblance to the kind of thing you see in rural Louisiana -- the Courir de Mardi Gras, which is extremely different from New Orleans Mardi Gras, and probably more truly traditional -- the Cajuns dress up in much simpler costumes with interesting wire masks and ride on horseback and go house to house harrassing people for ingredients to a gumbo all day and then ride back into town and the end of the day for a big party (yes I have seen this and, yes, I have seen men riding standing up drunk on horseback waving chickens by their feet in the air while shouting on the ride back in. And, yes, I have eaten the resulting gumbo while standing next to a cage of chickens who haven't been killed yet. And yes i felt a bit bad for the chickens . . . but the gumbo was also good, as was the beer and the music).

The Philadelphia Mummers look to me like a kind of cross between the floats of the traditional Mardi Gras krewes in N.O., Mobile, etc., that are mainly upper class and were once all-white and the Mardi Gras Indian tradition that takes place in the black neighborhoods. They're much more like a predominantly white version of the black Mardi Gras Indians. Look up the Mardi Gras Indians and you'll see a similarity in their costumes. And they do gigs all year, too, and tend to be tied to neighborhoods, etc.

I haven't been to a Mummers parade yet, but I hope to someday. I love seeing it on TV. It doesn't make up for missing Mardi Gras, but it helps a little.