Mummery isn't just for New Year's Day.

The Philadelphia Mummer String Bands celebrated Mardi Gras a week early with a parade in Manayunk, just outside of Philadelphia.

Hundreds upon hundreds lined Main Street in the town on Feb. 18 to see the signature Mummer strut and hear renditions of "Oh! Dem Golden Slippers."

It was much smaller than the traditional New Year's Day celebration, but packed just as much color, great music and revelry. Only 16 string bands performed, including South Philadelphia, Fralinger, Hegeman, Woodland, Quaker City, Durning, Avalon, Uptown and Duffy.

Due to the parade's smaller size, crowds were able to get up close and personal with the Mummers, walking to the street and grabbing selfies -- or just joining in to dance.

The parade kicked off the Mardi Gras season in Philadelphia. Mardi Gras is technically on Feb. 28. It is also known as Shrove Tuesday and is a day of indulgence ahead of the beginning of Lent.

The Manayunk Mardi Gras parade is relatively new for the Mummers, with 2017 being only the third year it has happened. Compare that to the New Year Day's 300-year-plus past.

You can see scenes from the Mummers Mardi Gras parade in the gallery at the top of this post. If you need more Mummers in your life, check out the video below from New Year's Day.

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