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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Abbots Bromley Horn Dance
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Ceremony performed every September in the Staffordshire village of Abbots Bromley. The dancers wear reindeer antlers (one pair has been carbon-dated to around AD 1000), and they mime the fighting of stags. It is believed to be the oldest surviving folk festival in Britain, but its origins and purpose are unknown. Equally mysterious is how the horns reached Staffordshire, where reindeer were extinct long before 1000.
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