Thousands Celebrate Midwinter Solstice at Montol Festival in Penzance

Published On: 22 December 2025Last Updated: 22 December 2025By CornishStuff

📷 Credit Penzance Council

Thousands of people gathered in Penzance on Sunday 21st December as the town marked the midwinter solstice with the return of the Montol Festival.

The longest night of the year was celebrated with fire, music, masks and misrule, as streets filled with revellers taking part in the increasingly popular community event. Montol celebrates the midwinter solstice, Cornish midwinter traditions of the past, and customs linked to Old Christmas.

Funded by Penzance Council, the festival saw local residents and visitors don elaborate costumes before parades began at sundown and continued well into the night.

A Festival Rooted in Cornish Tradition

Montol Festival began in 2007 and, led by Simon Reed and the Cornish Culture Association, quickly became one of the highlights of the year for Penzance.

Now in its 18th year, the event has grown under the Montol Organising Committee, while remaining focused on reimagining Cornish midwinter customs and Christmas traditions once practised in and around the town and across much of Cornwall.

This year, Penzance Council awarded the Montol Organising Committee £7,500 in grant funding to help cover the costs of putting on the festival.

Mayor of Penzance, Stephen Reynolds, said:

“Penzance is a town like no other, and Montol is a festival like no other. It’s a vibrant, creative reinvention of a tradition with deep roots in this Celtic land, bring people together to celebrate the solstice with music, dance, fire and a huge dose of community spirit.

“I’m proud that Penzance Council continues to support the amazing band of volunteers who not only keep the Montol tradition alive, but refresh it every year as a living event for one and all.”

📷Montol Festival in Penzance on Sunday 21 December 2025. Photo by Penzance Council

From Beasts to the Burning of the Sun

From early afternoon on Sunday, Beasts and Osses such as Pen Hood, Maw Bras and Alargh Du roamed the town, while Morris sides and carol singers gathered to perform.

The main celebrations began at 4.21pm, when sunset signalled the start of the Sundowner Parade. Led by the Raffidy Dumitz Band, Lord and Lady Montol and their honoured guests, the family friendly parade made its way down Causewayhead to large crowds in the town centre.

Following the Summoning of the Sun Ceremony, featuring a battle between the Oak and Holly Kings, the main procession, known as The Progress of the Sun, set off from Greenmarket. With the giant crow Old Ned at the front, illuminated musicians, Guise Guilds, Beasts, Osses and members of the public processed up Causewayhead to the Princess May Recreation Ground for the Burning of the Sun.

📷Montol Festival in Penzance on Sunday 21 December 2025. Photo by Penzance Council

Growing Guise Guilds and a Night of Misrule

The number of Guise Guilds continues to grow each year, with groups inspired by descriptions of similar guilds from the early 19th century. Present day guilds are still based on friends coming together to create themed costumes.

The oldest surviving guilds include The Cornmarket Revellers and The Gyptians, alongside newer groups such as the Physicians, the Turks, The Peccadilloes, The Scaleybacks, The Frolicking Fishy Folk, The Radical Ramblers, The Coddiwomplers, The Hwymm Hwamm Hyggas, The Hedgerows, The Tatty Mummers and The Sticklers.

After dancing around the fire at the Princess May Recreation Ground, the Raffidy Dumitz Band led revellers back into the town centre for more guise dancing and Morris dancing. The evening concluded with Tas Nadelik’s Parade and the Progress of the Mock torch lit procession, ending with the traditional Cornish custom of Chalking the Mock and a final flourish of misrule.