Did a religious taunt create the Hokey Pokey?
In short: The Hokey Pokey seems like a harmless children's dance, but some believe it has sinister origins. This video explores the theory that the song began as an anti-Catholic taunt used by Scottish Puritans in the UK.
The song's lyrics in the UK, often sung as "hokey cokey," may have roots in the 17th-century magician's incantation "hocus pocus." This conjuration phrase—"hocus pocus, tontus talontus, vade celeriter jubeo"—is thought by some to be a derivation of the phrase spoken during Catholic Mass: "hoc est enim corpus meum," meaning "for this is my body."
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- Summary by Intellect · source: What the Hokey Pokey is Really All About
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