Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: May Day and it’s origins
Happy May Day! Okay so it was yesterday but why not get a little history about May Day anyway!
There are multiple iterations of celebrations that include industrial workers, witches, flowers and more. In France, the King was given a Lily-of-the-valley as a lucky charm. He decided to offer one each year to the Ladies of the Court.
The Druids celebrated Beltane, the beginning of pastoral summer when livestock was led out to pasture.
Romans brought their worship of Flora, the goddess of flowers. And gradually their rituals were combined.
But then the Puritans squelched any observance, thinking it pagan. When they lost power in England, May Day celebrations were brought back but more subdued. Gradually, it came to be regarded more as a day of joy and merriment for children.
You may also have heard of Maypoles (they’re more common in Europe than in the U.S.) which is another centuries-old tradition that influenced modern-day May Day. In medieval times, villagers would place bright, colorful streamers and ribbons on a tall pole; young girls would each grab the end of a streamer and do a dance around holding them. Below is a video I found:
In North America small baskets were usually filled with flowers or treats and left at someone’s doorstep. The giver rings the bell and runs away.
The idea, many moons ago, was to take all the flowers that they had gathered at the end of April’s showers, along with some gifts and candies, and then hang a basket on the doors of friends and neighbors as a way of welcoming them into warmer weather.
Let’s face it, many of us would LOVE to feel warmer weather this year!! Morris Dancing is another option to dance up the sun. This video just makes me smile as they’re having so much fun!
Any way you look at it, it’s always a good day to dance and give flowers!