My May Day

I still love May Day even at age 53. When I was a child there was a huge field of daffodils near my home that had spread into the woods and down into an abandoned apple orchard. The owner did not mind if we picked them so we often did. In years when it was not so warm the daffodils had finished blooming by May Day, I often would pick large bouquets of them and take them to the older lady who lived at the end of Elm lane as a May Day gift. I never thought of it as pagan of course or anything but a joyous celebration of the coming of summer. Many children's books still had stories about May poles and May baskets although in western NY in the 60s the holiday was fading. I am sure that is where I learned about May day. I understand that Clymer Central School still celebrates with a May Pole or did until very recently. That western, NY community was settled by Dutch people. When I think of the May Day celebrations in the Soviet Union I watched on TV as a child and teen, I cringe. It was the day the Soviets trotted out their most lethal weapons and paraded them in Moscow in the most threatening and ugly manner. I prefer the old meaning for May Day. I celebrate the return of summer and tradition. I do not want to see American labor associated in any way with this Soviet and Eastern Block celebration either. Labor is under fire from so many corners it does not need to be wed to a holiday celebrated with military might in communist Russia. I know there is a strong association with labor in much of Europe but we celebrate Labor at the end of summer on Labor Day so I prefer to keep May Day as a celebration of spring and the promise of summer. I love folklore and for me May Day is very special and is a celebration of life eternal.



May Pole Dance 1920

The May Pole Dance by Elder Bruegel

The Dance around the May Pole by Dance by Elder Bruegel


Pieter Bruegel the Elder was a Flemish Renaissance painter and printmaker known for his landscapes and peasant scenes (Genre Painting). He is sometimes referred to as "Peasant Bruegel" to distinguish him from other members of the Brueghel dynasty, but is also the one generally meant when the context does not make clear which "Bruegel" is being referred to. From 1559 he dropped the 'h' from his name and started signing his paintings as Bruegel.

How a Maypole Dance is done.

Ribbon Dance


Dancers gather in a circle, each holding a coloured ribbon attached to a much smaller pole. As the dance commences the ribbons are intertwined and plaited either on to the pole itself or into a web around the pole. The dancers may then retrace their steps exactly in order to unravel the ribbons. This style of maypole dancing originates in the 18th century, and is derived from traditional and 'art' dance forms popular in Italy and France. These were exported to the London stage and reached a large audience, becoming part of the popular performance repertoire. Adopted at a large teacher training institution, the ribbon maypole dance then spread across much of England, and is now regarded as the most 'traditional' of May Day's traditional characteristics.