May Day celebrated across UK
On 1 May, lots of people around the UK took part in some very old and strange traditions to celebrate May Day. This is a festival celebrated across Europe to mark the return of spring.
Festivities at the beginning of May took place in ancient Roman times, when people used to honour Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers and spring, at the Floralia Festival. It’s thought that people in Britain and Ireland started to have their own May Day celebrations in medieval times. May Day traditions include dancing around a maypole. This is a pole or tree trunk decorated with flowers that is usually set up on a village green. It has lots of ribbons attached to it, which children and adults hold onto and weave into patterns while they dance. In some villages, a girl is chosen to be the May Queen to lead the celebrations that day.
Morris dancers often perform on May Day as well. This is a traditional English folk dance where people wear little bells in their costumes. This year, a group of female Morris dancers celebrated May Day by performing in every parish on the island of Jersey. In Wales, May Day is known as “Calan Mai”, which means “first day of May”. Calan Mai traditions include lighting bonfires to ward off evil spirits, singing carols and decorating homes with flowers and leaves to reflect the growth that comes with spring. On the same day, people also celebrate Beltane, which means “fires of Bel”. The festival is linked to Belenus, the old Celtic god of healing. It is usually observed in Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
On 30 April, the night before Beltane, people gathered for a fire festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, which featured acrobats, dancers and musicians. Fire is an important part of Beltane because traditionally people used to walk, dance or jump over fire pits to purify themselves. Nowadays it is marked by bonfires and shows by trained performers. May Day celebrations in Padstow, Cornwall, England, also marked Beltane and welcomed thousands of people to watch its famous May Day Parade.