Revellers dance alongside the Thames to celebrate Twelfth Night

Crowds held hands and danced to celebrate Twelfth Night – marking the end of the festive season and start of the Epiphany.

The Holly Man, a pagan symbol of seasonal rebirth who is covered head to toe in evergreen foliage, greeted revellers outside Shakespeare’s Globe on London’s South Bank.

The crowd was “wassailed” by the Holly Man and mayor of Southwark, an anglo-saxon tradition encouraging good growth.

The audience, some of whom were decked in Holly, were then treated to the “freestyle” St George Folk Combat Play by the Bankside Mummers, a tradition which dates back to the Crusades.

The crowd, filled with young children, bemused tourists and Twelfth Night devotees, chanted and cheered to the old verse chants which incorporated traditional themes such as death and resurrection as well as the occasional Brexit pun.

Free pieces of “Twelfth cake” were handed around and two lucky individuals with cakes containing a bean and a pea, were crowned the King Bean and Queen Pea.

The play ended with the performers and crowd holding hands and dancing along Bankside to the jolly tunes of the piano accordion.

The crowd danced from the Globe to the historic George Inn in Southwark and rounded off the afternoon with mulled wine, Morris dancing and decorating of the Kissing Tree, an evergreen bough decked with ribbons representing wishes.

The event, organised by The Lions part, marked the 24th Twelfth Night celebration held by the performance group, which typically collaborates with local artists, costume makers, musicians and dancers in order to celebrate the close of the Christmas season.

Twelfth Night also marks the day on which Christmas decorations are to be taken down.

The official date, however, has been subject to some confusion, with some regarding it as January 5, 12 days from December 25, and others celebrating it on January 6, 12 days from Boxing day.