INTERNATIONAL TOWN CRIERS DAY
International Town Criers Day on the second Monday in July celebrates the historical relevance of town criers throughout history. Got a good strong voice? Do you like to tell others what’s going on? The day honors loud people who announce the news by using a bell and making proclamations to townspeople.
Besides having a loud voice, if you want to become a town crier, you also need to be able to read and write. You will become a very important person because, traditionally, people of standing in the community were chosen as criers.
Are you married? Your partner can be an asset in a career as a town crier. That’s because a husband and wife work as a team. The wife rings the large hand bell and the husband does the shouting.
Once you become a town crier, you perform several roles, the first of which may be that of a news broadcaster. In some cases, you could be an officer of a royal court to make public pronouncements as required.
In your loud role as a town crier, you could have some less vocal but very somber tasks to perform. If it is truly your calling, these tasks might be enjoyable for you. You could install wayward husbands in stocks in the city square. You could get paid to administer public floggings or be the official witness of a public hanging in the town square.
Besides being a news broadcaster, be prepared to also be the town’s news publisher as a crier. You could have your own Saturday Night Post because the term “post” as in “posting a notice” comes from the act of the town crier. After bellaring the news of the day to local townspeople, you would post the news on the door of the local Inn, or maybe a Holiday Inn.
As a town crier, you could join a group of fellow town criers in Australia, Canada, the United States, England, Italy, Mexico, and other European countries.
HOW TO OBSERVE INTERNATIONAL TOWN CRIERS DAY
If you want to get out your news of the day, learn to become a town crier. Visit www.doitproperly.co.uk to learn more.
If you don’t have a good strong voice, but you still want to tell others what’s going on, you can hire a town crier. There are nearly 100 who are available. In the U.S. find them at www.americantwoncriers.com and in the UK find them at www.loyalcomapnyoftowncriers.co.uk.
Develop your own town crier style after you listen to their cries at the American Guild of Town Criers.
Use #TownCriersDay to follow on social media.
HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL TOWN CRIERS DAY
Scott Fraser, a town crier in Waterloo, Ontario founded the day when he became no day existed celebrating his calling. He established the first International Town Crier Day in 1997.
Historically, the first town criers were the runners in the early Greek Empire. Then, as the Roman empire spread through Europe, the position became more important. Eventually, they became officers of the court. It was not always a safe position. If a ruler did not like the message decreed by the runner or the town crier, he could be executed.
Later, town criers were protected by law. “Don’t shoot the messenger” was a very real command; If you were a town crier in a region where the King was not popular, you could be attacked. Any crime committed against the town crier was considered committed against the king and was a treasonable offense.
DATES
11 July 2022
10 July 2023
8 July 2024
14 July 2025
13 July 2026
12 July 2027
10 July 2028
9 July 2029
