Rushbearing is an old English ecclesiastical festival in which rushes are collected and carried to be strewn on the floor of the parish church.

The tradition dates back to the time when most buildings had earthen floors and rushes were used as a form of renewable floor covering for cleanliness and insulation.
The festival was widespread in Britain from the Middle Ages and well established by the time of Shakespeare, but had fallen into decline by the beginning of the 19th century, as church floors were flagged with stone.
The custom was revived later in the 19th century and is kept alive today as an annual event in Grasmere where villagers carry "bearings" through the village, finishing in the church, whilst the church floor is strewn with freshly cut rushes. The poet William Wordsworth, who lived in Grasmere for fourteen years, described it as "the loveliest spot that man hath ever found". Villagers gather together to collect the rushes from the edges of the lake, and then make the "bearings" for the day of celebration. The star attractions of the procession are the six Rushbearing Maidens who attend Grasmere CofE village school.