May Day
by From May Baskets to Labor protests, May 1st is a special time.
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Gathering baskets of flowers, ringing door bells and running away, school children dancing prettily around a pole or tree weaving streamers of ribbon—all very pretty and innocuous, right? I first learned of May Day when I was reading Little Women for the very first time. It seems the March girls went searching for flowers on a particularly cold New England April 30th. Finding very little in the way of wild posies, they are rescued by the little rich boy next door who brings flowers from his father’s greenhouse.
My next encounter with May Day (aside from my cousin pretending to be an airplane that is about to crash land and running in circles shouting “May Day! May Day!”) was in High School, reading a short story title, “The Lottery”. “The Lottery” tells the story of a village where each spring people draw lots, selecting one of their number to be stoned to death. This story gave me the cold shudders (and still does.)
Some years later, I encountered the neo-pagan movement. May 1st is the traditional day for celebrating Beltaine, one of the two major pagan holidays. (The other is Samhain, celebrated on October 31st.) It is believed by many neo-pagan groups that for pre-Roman Britain, Beltaine was the New Year holiday. It was a festival celebrating the return of the Sun; fires were ritually extinguished and rekindled; two huge bonfires were built. Cattle driven between these fires were believed to be especially fertile. Human couples who jumped over the dying embers were believed to be blessed through the coming year. As the feasting, dancing, and so on died down, tradition has it that there was a lot of wandering off into the bushes by couples of various ages and degrees of commitment.
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Post CommentGlynis Smy
On April 16, 2009 at 10:19 am
Cyprus celebrates 1st May. Interesting article.
Christine Ramsay
On April 16, 2009 at 1:06 pm
That is a really interesting article. It has taught me so much I didn’t know about May Day. It is a bank holiday here.
Christine
Joe Dorish
On April 16, 2009 at 2:07 pm
Nice Daisy.
Ruby Hawk
On April 16, 2009 at 7:49 pm
Interesting, when I was in the lower grades we danced around the maypole. It was great fun. I read “the Lottery” a longtime ago. Wasn’t it written by Shirley Cullen or Carson? That was the most terrible thing I have ever read. It gives me chills to think about it now.
Daisy Peasblossom
On April 16, 2009 at 8:03 pm
The Lottery was written by Shirley Jackson in 1948. It was required reading my Sophomore year in high school. I consider it to be even more frightening than H.P. Lovecraft’s works because of how normal the people seem at first. Unlike Lovecraft, Jackson’s story comes under the heading of “this could really happen.”
Kate Smedley
On April 17, 2009 at 9:33 am
Excellent article Daisy, I didn’t realise there was so much to May Day.
PR Mace
On April 18, 2009 at 4:17 pm
Interesting article, Daisy. I enjoyed it.