The Merry Month of May
Come lasses and lads, get leave of your dads, And away to the maypole hie, For every he has got a she, And the fiddler’s standing by... Anon
“Come to the May celebrations,” calls the old verse, with a hint of coupling, dancing and joyous celebration. England has an ancient tradition of celebrating May Day, or Beltane, as it was known in Celtic and Saxon history. The feast day marked the victory of summer over winter, heralding the new season of growth and fertility. The English have continued to honour the first day of May ever since. Different generations and communities have added their own interpretations to the occasion, so that we inherit a wealth of May Day customs.
Hail, bounteous May, that doest inspire Mirth, and youth, and warm desire; Woods and grove are of thy dressing, Hill and dale does boast thy blessing. From “On May Morning” by John Milton (1608-1674)
Beltane was a spirited affair; a festival which began at sunset on May Day eve and lasted until sunset on the day itself. Bonfires were lit to represent cleansing. There was dancing, feasting and games, but most importantly participants revelled in the fertility of the countryside. Young men and women hurried to the woods before daybreak to gather garlands of mayflower blossom and birch wands.
Legend has it that these forays were licentious affairs but, for that one night, illicit couplings were overlooked. It would seem that Greenwood marriages — betrothals which lasted a year and a day — were sanctioned and any resulting offspring, known as “Children of the Greenwood” or “Merry Begots” were honoured at the May Day feast.
By the 17th century Philip Stubbes, the Puritan pamphleteer, was berating the activity. Against the backdrop of the Civil War he wrote that, “...of forty, three score, or a hundred maids, going to the wood over night, they have scarcely the third part of them returned home again undefiled”.
There’s not a budding boy or girl, this
day, But is got up, and gone to bring in
May... And some have wept and wooed, and
plighted troth, And chose their priest, ere we can cast
off sloth: Many a green-gown has been given, Many a kiss, both odd and even: Many a glance, too, has been sent From out the eye, love’s firmament: Many a jest told of the keys betraying This night, and locks picked: yet we’re
not a-maying! From “Corinna’s Going A-maying” by Robert Herrick (1591-1674)
“The bringing in of May” — the blossom of the hawthorn — was a significant part of the day for many generations. (Calendar changes in 1752 meant that May Day was 11 days further into summer than it is today and hence the May further into flower. The spring solstice was known as New Year before the change.)
Children would make garlands, hang them on neighbours’ door knobs and thus earn the right to beg for money; in the same way that Christmas carollers collect money for their singing. Young girls were advised to bathe their faces in the dew of the May-buds to ensure “the blush of the rose and the whiteness of the lily”.
In his book, Common Wayside Flowers published in 1860, Thomas Miller writes, “Go into the country, and
you will meet young men and maidens, and even little children, returning home laden with May.”
Among the buds proclaiming
May, Decking the fields in holiday array, Striving who shall surpass in braverie, Marke the faire flowering of the
hawthorn tree Who finely clothed in a robe of white, Fills full the wanton eye with May’s
delight. Geoffrey Chaucer (c.1343-1400)
By around 1350 the fetching of the maypole was taking on a greater significance. The night-time revellers would emerge from the woods at dawn in a procession with their newly cut pole; possibly affirming their rights, in an annual wood-gathering march to Grovely Forest.
Many interpretations have been offered on the symbolism of the maypole. Pagans promote the pole as a phallic symbol and the ribbons as the female form, Earth worshippers see it as a channel guiding the energy of the dance down into the Earth’s womb, encouraging her fertility. To Puritan observers, maypoles were a manifestation of papal influence or alternatively a form of idol worship and they were banned by an Act of Parliament in 1644. Others have likened the pole to a crucifix with the dancers representing the Apostles. Whatever we believe, the maypole has survived into the 21st century as the most recognised symbol and focal point of May Day.
The crowning of a May queen has its roots in early Beltane rituals. She has taken many forms through the ages: Lady of the May, Mary Magdalene and Maid Marian. Sometimes she was given a consort who was in charge of the revels — the May King — also materialising as the Green Man, Jack in the Green, Robin Goodfellow and Robin Hood.
You must wake and call me early, call
me early, mother dear, Tomorrow’ll be the happiest time of
all the glad new year, Of all the glad new year, mother, the
maddest, merriest day, For I’m to be Queen o’ the May,
mother, I’m to be Queen o’ the May. From “The May Queen” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892)
During the Middle Ages the legends of Robin Hood became popular and were acted-out by mummers. Saint George and the Dragon, hobby horses and Morris bands became associated with May Day. There were athletic games and tug-of-war. It was a colourful, exciting and bawdy occasion with a good deal of drunken and rowdy behaviour, but by the 16th century the celebrating of May Day was reaching its zenith.
The May games attracted the attention of reformers who were hostile to all “folk” gatherings and there was a background of disapproval from the Puritan movement throughout the Elizabethan and Stuart eras. “Playacting,” said Stubbes, encouraged “whoredom and uncleanness”. By 1644 the ascendance of the Puritan cause and the Civil War had brought a ban to May Day activities, as well as Christmas celebrations and even the playing of football.
With the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, May Day was no longer outlawed. The diarist Samuel Pepys recorded the raising of a maypole on 1st May 1660. “Today I hear they were very merry at Deal, setting up the King’s flag upon one of their maypoles and drinking his health upon their knees in the streets.” The following year a maypole was erected on the Strand to celebrate the return of Charles II to London and they have continued to be raised for special royal occasions up to the present day.
May Day was never quite the same in its reinstatement. Perhaps it had less relevance during the industrialisation of England. Maypoles were brought into the cities but the tradition became less fashionable and began to fade during the 18th century.
The Victorians cleaned up the image of May Day and reinvented it for their times. Now it represented all that was wholesome: an innocent country custom. The May Queen and her retinue of dancers wore virginal white and carried posies. The maypole was garlanded with ribbons and streamers and the dance became a morally correct presentation on the village green or in the town park.
While Earth herself is adorning This sweet May morning, And the Children are culling On every side, In a thousand valleys far and wide, Fresh flowers; while the sun shines
warm, And the Babe leaps up on his
Mother’s arm. From “Ode” by William Wordsworth (1770-1850)
The Arts and Crafts Movement of the late-19th century encouraged the revival of traditional craftsmanship and nostalgia for a lost vision of “Olde England”. Country entertainments including maypole dancing were championed. In 1881 John Ruskin, the artist, critic and social philosopher designed a May Day pageant for Whitelands Teacher Training College in Chelsea. The influence continued into the 20th century with a drive to teach “folk” dance to children in schools, including the ribbon dances of the maypole.
It was essentially the secular nature of the festival — May Day does not commemorate any prominent religious occasions — which attracted the attentions of the socialist movement and the “people’s day” was adopted as a Labour Day. In 1975, amid much political debate, the state recognised May Day as a bank holiday and reinstated it to be celebrated on the first Monday of May.
With many communities working to keep the traditions alive there is sure to be a May Day event close to home. But don’t forget to dip your face in the May dew, garland your door with spring flowers, frolic through the woods and marvel at the fragrance of new growth.