It was a dreary afternoon back in 2014 when Ben Edge took one of his usual walks through London.
At the time, the artist and film-maker was going through a ‘dark period’ and feeling disconnected to the country he lived in.
Upon his arrival near Tower Hill tube station in the eastern part of the city, he observed a gathering of individuals clad in white robes engaging in a procession.
Ben would later discover this group was the London Druid Order, who count William Blake as past members, celebrating the spring equinox.
The occasion they were marking is the one where the Earth’s axis aligns with its orbit, resulting in both hemispheres receiving an equal amount of sunlight. This festivity has its roots tracing back to the Iron Age.
It was at this moment that Ben developed a deep appreciation for traditional British ceremonies that unite communities from all corners of the country to honor nature, the changing seasons, and regional customs.
They do this via their own set of unique practices and costumes, which have been carried out for generations.
Recently Ben has noticed a rise in the number of Gen Z joining celebrations, including the world-renowned summer solstice at Stonehenge.
Ben has noticed something of a ‘folk revival’, with more Gen Zs than ever embracing ancient rituals as they look to connect with nature and defy the establishment.
He said: ‘There are more young people visiting these things and going out of their way to do so.
‘There are also new traditions with origins routed in the past, reviving traditions that perhaps have fallen out of practise. Or they are taking age-old ideas and modernising them. So a new generation of people are engaging with this idea of the wheel of the year.’
Ben defines a folk custom as a community-based practice, usually in rural areas, which have taken place for centuries.
They are usually centred around a quirky tradition of the community and are strongly connected to the area’s natural environment.
He explained: ‘They are practices by communities, which are a collective celebration of many things. A celebration of regional culture, which has been taking place in those communities for centuries.
‘Those practises are carried down across generations. They are also a celebration of the seasons and our relationship to nature. A lot of these celebrate times of the year that have significance – the start of summer, the equinoxs.
‘They go back to rural communities where you lived in harmony with the land. I like to think of it as ordinary people taking control of their lives, living with the oppressive regimes of society.’
Unusual events include the Whittlesea Straw Bear Festival, where a resident from the Cambridgeshire town dresses up in a costume made of straw and dance through the streets.
The custom dates back to the 1800s, when plough boys would dress in straw whilst they attempted to steal food and drink during the lean winter months.
In the present day, it is a four-day event which draws up to 6,000 people to the town, to drink, watch Morris dancing and join the straw bear as he makes his annual pilgrimage through the town.
In South Queensferry, a town in West Lothian, locals take to the streets every second Friday in August to watch a man covered from head to toe in flower seeds and sticky burrs as he walks a nine-mile route whilst being fed whisky through a straw.
The 400-year-old ritual, known as Burryman’s Day, is thought to bring good luck to the town – although the exact meaning of the ritual has been lost through the years.
‘I love the individual creativity of the people and the communities in rural culture,’ Ben said.
‘In this age of capitalism and mono-culture where high streets are becoming the same, it’s important for people to be preserving these practises. They make the world such an interesting place.’
But it is not just Ben who has been gripped by these custom. Events are becoming more popular with younger people and Gen Zs in the post-Covid era.
The last summer solstice at Stonehenge saw thousands of Gen Z dressed in floral headdresses and colourful make-up celebrating with the Druids and pagans.
Some 15,000 visitors came to the event to mark the longest day of the year at the ancient site near Salisbury, Wiltshire.
Historian Jennifer Wexler, who is an expert on the stone circle, said: ‘There is definitely quite a young crowd there, I’ve seen it in my own friends.
‘I saw it even when I was working at the British History Museum. We were seeing all these young, hip people coming in. Not the standard demographic at all.
‘There is a slight punk aspect, like an alternative perspective on the world. It isn’t about just kind of like the standard nation state. It’s more about yeah, this kind of more local nuance, but more, maybe inclusive view of the world.’
Ben believes these events attract younger generations who struggle with the ‘one size fits all national identity’ in post-Brexit Britain.
He added: ‘I think people are starting to awake to the fact that we need to look after where we live and fall in love with where we live.
‘I think regional culture is about the ordinary every day working class people’s culture.
‘I think people can find a sense of identity perhaps in what we would describe as a post-Brexit broken Britain.
‘I think people are perhaps feeling marginalised and disconnected to this human phenomenon, which is almost living in harmony with the seasons.
‘That feeling of alienation, they can find this kind of soleus in this grassroots culture, which has sort of grown out of the ground. It’s about real people.’
But more importantly, Ben and Jennifer say the main reason for the surge in popularity of these events in the modern age is their inclusivity.
Ms Wexler said: ‘It’s a different way of engaging with the world. I think that’s why people are really drawn to it. It’s a different way with trying to engage with the world in a different view in an authentic, grassroots feeling.
‘It’s inclusive and everyone is welcome and everyone is talking to each other. That’s what we want in the post-Covid world. We want to be together, celebrating and talking.’
