May Day

"Here we go gathering *nuts in May": by Helen Gaffney

When daisies pied and violets blue
And lady-smocks all silver white
And cuckoo-buds of yellow hue
Do paint the meadows with delight.
William Shakespeare
Love's Labour's Lost

The 1st of May, May Day or Garland Day is the time set aside for celebrating the spring and rejoicing in the signs of renewal all round.  For the ancient Celts, it marked the beginning of summer, when they took their livestock up to the hills to graze again after being kept in the valleys over the winter.  Long before the time of Red Square parades and the singing of the 'Nationale', the people of England gathered on their village greens for May Day revels and to dance around the Maypole.

The Maypole is a symbol of virility - the dance probably began as a rite in honour of the Sun God, god of fertility.  The pole was traditionally sixty to eighty feet high and painted with brightly coloured rings or spirals.  It would stand on the green all year round, waiting to be redecorated with ribbons and greenery.  The shorter Maypole we often see today, with bright ribbons, which become plaited in the course of the dance around it, is in fact a 19th century import from southern Europe, as is the idea of a child May Queen.  The prettiest maidens of the village would dance around the Maypole and the loveliest was chosen as May Queen, often accompanied by a King and crowned with hawthorn blossoms.  The May Queen is thought originally to have represented Flora, the Roman goddess of spring.

Hawthorn, or 'May' blossoms once bedecked every door and window on May Day and milkmaids would drape the horns of their cows with garlands of the sweet white flowers.  In the North-western and Midland counties of England, 'May birchers' would circulate the parish on May Eve, distributing various kinds of branch to all the houses.  Hawthorn in blossom was always a compliment but other kinds of thorn were indicators of scorn.

Sweet, masking May, in white or red
Her snowy cloud of blossoms spread.
Walter Crane
Flora's Feast

Another popular tradition among young maidens on May Day was to rise with the dawn and wash your face with the due, to ensure a fair complexion - and that you would marry the first man you meet afterwards.

Two recipes on an alcoholic theme are closely associated with May Day.  May Cup is thought to have originated from Germany and is traditionally offered to travellers and visitors on May Day.  May Liqueur can be made for drinking the following May Day.

In remembrance of the maidens dancing around the Maypole since time immemorial, you could bale some Maids of Honour for tea on May Day.  These sweet tartlets are thought to have been served originally at the court of Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn and her own maids of honour, although some say they were invented for Queen Elizabeth I at Richmond Palace.

Garland Day, Abbotsbury, Dorset, early 20th century

It used to be customary for young men to wear fine new linen shirts on May Day, on to which their girlfriends would have sewn ribbons and bows.  The men would then form a team, headed by the Garland Bearer, to dance on May Day.  Just before May Day the Garland Bearer would borrow items of value from local farmers - silver spoons, watches etc.  These would be attached to the garland - a long pole with a triangular frame attached.  The frame would be covered with strong white linen and the spoons would be sewn on in various patterns.  The top of the pole would be crowned with a large silver object, such as a tankard or a cup.  When the garland was completed it would be left at the home of the farmer who had contributed the most silverware and from there it would be collected early on May Day morning.  This garland, together with its team of dancers, would then tour the parish, collecting alms as it went.

Grey toppers and smart spring bonnets adorn couples both young and old as they dance sweetly through the crowded streets of Helston in Cornwall on Flora day.  They dance to the catchy tune wrongly - to the irritation of the locals - called the 'Floral Dance'.  It is actually the 'Furry Dance'.

The whole town is hung with greenery, flowers and bunting for this tremendous occasion, (usually staged on 8 May), which welcomes in the spring and the promise of summer.

At Minehead in Somerset, a peculiar looking creature called the Sailor's Horse first appears on the streets on the last night of April.

He comes out again early on May Day when he bows solemnly three times to the rising sun and again during the next two days when he also tours the surrounding district.  His attendants who collect money from the locals and visitors are called Gullivers.

Once a year on May Day, the otherwise quiet Cornish port of Padstow erupts as the Old 'Oss (hobby horse) and the Teazer lead an uninhibited festival that has its roots in ancient fertility rites.

The earliest records of the Padstow hobby horse go back only to the early years of the nineteenth century, though the custom is no doubt very much older.  The day begins at the crack of midnight on the last night of April with the singing of the 'morning song' outside the Golden Lion pub.  The two 'horses' leap and prance in the streets for most of the day.

You have to get up early if you want to enjoy one of Oxford's most attractive old customs, the May Morning ceremony at Magdalen College.  When May has been welcomed in, there is a chance to inspect the 15th century college itself, wealthiest and perhaps the most beautiful in Oxford, with glorious grounds, spring flowers, a famous river walk, deer park and cloister.

People gather very early on the morning of May Day on Magdalen Bridge in Oxford.  At 6:00 a.m., from high above on top of the tower of Magdalen College, the strains of a hymn in Latin float sweetly down, sung by the college choir.  The hymn is followed by a madrigal and then the morris dancers dance in Radcliffe Square and Broad Street.  How this custom started is not known, but it was going strong by about 1650 when the choir sang at 4:00 a.m.  Later, musical instruments played and the whole concert went on for two hours, to be drastically reduced one very wet May morning late in the eighteenth century!

All around the Maypole we will trot
From the very bottom to the very top
On the first of May.
First come the buttercups
Then come the daisies
Then come the gentles
Then come the ladies.
Old May Day Song

^* As the old childhood rhyme puts it but in fact there were no nuts involved at all. The word was originally knots, and referred to knots or bunches of flowers.