Numb’s the Word at Wintry Mummers’ Parade : 1989 Begins With Much Tradition, Some Temperance

Americans marked New Year’s Day with parades, football games and family gatherings after putting 1988 to rest with a round of parties and festivals.

Many celebrants awoke on the first day of the year without the traditional hangover--thanks to a growing trend toward New Year’s Eve celebrations free of alcohol.

About 20,000 Mummers clad in brightly colored costumes, glittering sequins and ostrich feathers staged an abbreviated parade past City Hall in Philadelphia to ring in the New Year and preserve a holiday tradition, despite snow flurries and 35-degree temperatures.

Members of several string bands and fancy brigades participating in the parade feared that their elaborate costumes and instruments would be destroyed by the weather. The marchers boarded shuttle buses and walked only 2 blocks of the original 2.5-mile parade route to pass television cameras and the judges’ booth.

Catcalls From Spectators

The decision was met with boos and catcalls from thousands of spectators who braved the elements to watch the Mummers’ annual “cakewalk” from Broad Street in South Philadelphia to City Hall.

“This is a disappointment. It’s a big disappointment,” said Lou Piccone of Atlantic City, N.J., who travels to Philadelphia with his wife, Marie, each year to watch the parade.

Americans had to wait until today for another favorite New Year’s tradition--the major college bowl games--but they had two NFL playoff games Sunday to fulfill their need for football.

The shift toward a sober New Year’s Eve gained strength in Boston, where an estimated 600,000 people attended the First Night celebration--10 hours of song, music, dance, art and costumed revelry that emphasizes wholesome fun rather than drinking and rowdyism.

Similar celebrations were held across North America, including Denver; Ft. Worth; Vancouver, B.C.; Edmonton, Alberta; Athens, Ga., and Montclair, N.J.

‘Nothing of That Sort’

“I’m a Christian and I don’t like to go where there’s a lot of drinking and carrying on,” Frances Stallard said as she watched the Tip Top Tappers perform at the First Night celebration in Ft. Worth.

“Something we’re particularly pleased about is that we had no arrests, no drunk-and-disorderlies, nothing of that sort,” said Steven Millard, a spokesman for the group that put on the show.

There was less restraint in New York, where half a million people crowded into Times Square to party and watch the traditional ball descend for the 81st year.

A New Year’s Eve reveler was shot and killed and two others were wounded by assailants they had argued with during the rowdy Times Square celebrations, police said.

Witnesses told police that the three friends argued with two men moments before midnight in Times Square. After the festivities, the men followed the three and confronted them several blocks away.

“Words were exchanged again,” said Officer Hugh Barry, a police spokesman. “One of them pulled a gun and shot all three men.” Police were seeking the assailants.

52 People Arrested

About 2,300 police officers were assigned to handle the crowd, and they arrested 52 people on charges such as disorderly conduct, robbery and weapons possession. On Sunday, sanitation workers swooped in to clean up the estimated 25 tons of trash left behind.

To members of the Polar Bear Club, New Year’s Day is a day for swimming, and the members of the New York chapter were splashing in the chilly waves off Coney Island. Their major complaint was that the 35-degree temperature was not cold enough.