Today
is the feast day of Saint Congar of Congarsbury. A minor local saint, known
mainly for putting his staff in the ground and it having sprouted into a tree
according to legend, however it is in the annual commemoration of him by the
good folk of Congarsbury in Somerset that his legacy can be seen. At precisely
2:23 pm the church bells of the town ring out a peel with an unusual rhythm that
goes something like “da-da-da-de-da-da”. The townsfolk then gather in the
village green and form the processional “Congar line” they then march through
the town to the tune of the church bell chanting “Dah! Dah! Dah! Da! Dah” Hey!”
in an attempt to drive the Devil out of the town. It is also customary for those
not participating in the “Congar line” to leave bottles of wine on tables
outside their houses for the brave participants to take crafty swigs from as
they pass.
It is
from this age old British tradition we derive the modern “Conga” from favoured
at office Christmas parties when people have had way to much to drink.
As I've
had people accusing me of occasionally putting in random facts I've just made up
into these blogs before you can check out Saint Congar's wikipedia page if you
don't believe me http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congar_of_Congresbury
.
And now
the news:
A
version of the conga by early goth pioneers Black Lace:
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