Santa Barbara Revels, founded in 2007 by Susan Keller, is a firmly established Santa Barbara Holiday tradition, and it brings joy each year to a wide variety of attendees with participatory song and dance, story telling, drama and theatrical high jinks. Each year is devoted to bringing one of the rich variety of cultural celebrations of the Winter Solstice from around the world, and this year featured a reprisal of their take on Irish Christmas traditions as experienced by immigrants during their journey to America by steamer in the early 1900s. There was humor and joy, anticipation, sorrow and longing, and regret for leaving home, friends and family. Irish step dancing by the Claddagh Dance Company, and given the time of year, plenty of caroling, all added to the festivities. A mummers’ play is another established part of the Revels “franchise” (there are 10 Christmas Revels in the US, all under the umbrella of the non-profit Revels Inc.) for some comic relief and, well, revelry!
