On August 7th, 2010 I participated in a chivaree-also know as a "belling."
we performed a "Belling". This is a Rockingham County folk tradition dted to the 1700's. The tradition was inherited from German settlers who migrated into the Shenandoah Valley from Pennsylvania. It is a form of the old "chivaree" where a community would honor a citizen who had attained a new status, such as marriage. The frolicsome crowd would go to the newlywed's home at night and get them out of bed. They would parade down the street clanging cowbells, smashing pans together, and shouting cheers. The groom would push the bride down the street in a wheelbarrow.
My cousin Roger who is deceased had a daughter get married in June, so we "belled" Britney and Brandon. I was born in Rockingham County, VA and the Daily Record came and took pictures of the Belling.
My cousin Roger who is deceased had a daughter get married in June, so we "belled" Britney and Brandon. I was born in Rockingham County, VA and the Daily Record came and took pictures of the Belling.
