The English folk tradition featuring costumed performers acting out a sword-fighting Easter play is Pace Egging.
Pace Egging is a traditional English folk performance associated with Easter, especially in parts of Lancashire and Yorkshire. Performers, known as pace-eggers, travel between homes or perform in public, presenting a comic and dramatic play. Versions commonly include a hero, an opponent, a doctor, and a character who is killed and restored to life.
The performances combine combat, resurrection imagery, humor, and requests for food or money. “Pace” derives from an old word for Easter, related to the Latin Pascha. The plays therefore belong specifically to the Easter season rather than to the Christmas mumming tradition.
Scripts and characters differ from village to village, so no single version is universal. The central recognizable feature is the seasonal folk play, often involving sword fighting and revival.