The Wren Pole
Channel: Culture Vannin
Date: 2016-12-16

Hunt the Wren is a Celtic tradition stretching back into Pagan times.
On the Isle of Man today people still come together on the 26th of December to dance and sing the traditional song about a wren, "the king of all birds," who is caught in the bush and killed with sticks and stones. 
At the centre of the circular dance of Hunt the Wren is the mysterious and beautiful wren pole (or "wren bush"), on which the bird is hung.

Here Fiona McArdle and David Fisher explain how to make a traditional wren pole, and some of the traditions behind it.

"We'll hunt the wren, says Robin to Bobbin;
We'll hunt the wren, says Richard to Robin.
We'll hunt the wren, says Jack of the Land;
We'll hunt the wren, says everyone."

For the sheet music for Hunt the Wren, please visit ManxMusic.com: http://manxmusic.com/learn_page_457493.html

Film produced by Culture Vannin, 2016.
Culture Vannin exists to promote and support all aspects of culture in the Isle of Man.
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