Montol

Dec. 21, 2024, 4:30 p.m.

THE MONTOL FESTIVAL 2024 BRINGS COLOURFUL WEST CORNISH MIDWINTER TRADITIONS AND CUSTOMS INTO THE MODERN DAY. IT TAKES PLACE ON SATURDAY 21 DECEMBER 2024 WITH PROCESSIONS, GUISE GUILDS AND MASKS…test paragraph to work out what on earth is going on hereMuch of Cornwall’s cultural past is Celtic and pagan in origin. It’s full of folklore, myth and legend. So that ancient past (and we mean ancient!) is about as Christian as someone claiming that a pasty represents the body of Christ. Wind the clock forward to the modern day, however, and it follows that an event that’s inherently Celtic can’t also be an event that’s Christian, right?Wrong. And massively wrong if you subscribe to that idea, in fact, because isn’t Christmas itself a wonderful mix of ancient pagan traditions with the more modern stories of Christ and St Nicholas? And isn’t Cornwall itself a land that’s built on strong Celtic and Christian ideals that so often go hand-in-hand too?What we’re trying to say here is that a handful of traditional Cornish festivals combine the Duchy’s Celtic roots with its Christian ideals to great, colourful, exciting effect. And Montol 2024 has to be one of the best examples of this marriage of cultures, customs and traditions. It happens during every winter solstice (which, incidentally, is also the feast of St Thomas the Apostle) on 21 December every year 

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