What are Mollys origins?
Molly dancing is associated with the annual Plough Monday tradition (the first Monday after Twelth Night), during which young farmhands would drag a plough round the local villages, crying “a penny for the plough boys”, and if no penny was forthcoming cut a furrow across the cheapskate’s front lawn. As one would expect of such a “trick-or-treat” event, the Plough Monday procession usually took place after dark. However, during the daytime local Molly dancers would tour the region, dancing and collecting money/food/beer all day, then meet up in the evening for communal dancing.
