May Day!

May 1st, a day that is often called May Day, is a traditional spring holiday in many cultures. It is a celebration of Spring and a day of political protests, a saint's feast day, a neo-pagen festival, and a day organized for labor. This day is also known as International Worker's Day and is a national holiday in over 80 countries.

May Day is an ancient Northern Hemisphere spring festival that is related to the Celtic festival of Beltane and Germanic Festival of Walpurgis Night. The earliest May Day celebrations appeared in pre-Christian times, with the festival of Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers. May Day celebrations stretch back forever in time. The traditions we still recognize evolved in medieval England: A pole made from a birch tree and decorated with flowers; the fairest of maidens chosen as Queen of the May; male dancers with bells strapped to arms and legs provided the rhythm for the girls who circled the pole. The music played to coordinate the dance steps can be anything from a polka to "London Bridges," or even an early seventeenth-century passage.

Photo of May Day Pole Dance in 1946

Photo of Mendon May Day 1992

Photo of May Day from Loveyalyn

How to Make your own May Pole:

Tools and Materials:

-Glossy latex paint

-Drill

-Two wooden discs, each 6 inches in diameter

-19/16-inch-diameter wooden pole cut to a length of 10 feet

-Six 10-yard rolls of pastel, single-faced, 1 1/2-inch-wide satin ribbon

-Scissors

-Thumbtacks

-Staple gun

-3-inch double-sided screw

-Wooden finial

Maypole How-To
1. Paint pole, discs, and finial with glossy latex paint. Drill a hole slightly less than the diameter of the screw through the center of each disc, and a matching hole in one end of the pole. Unroll the ribbons, fold in half lengthwise, and cut a triangular notch into the center of each fold, creating a diamond-shape opening. Lay the ribbons flat, first dividing the disc into quarters, then placing two more ribbons in each quarter, centering the diamond-shape opening over the drilled hole. Secure the ribbons with thumbtacks, then use a staple gun to attach each ribbon along the perimeter of the disc and again at the center.

2. Insert the screw in the top of the pole; fit the beribboned disc, ribbon-side up, over the screw. Then add the top disc, and, finally, the finial. Twist the finial until it feels secure and the discs are tight. To secure the pole in the ground, dig a hole two feet deep, and line it with an umbrella ground sleeve. Tighten the nut on the sleeve until the pole is held firm. The pole will then stand eight feet above ground. A patio umbrella stand could work as well. Just be sure to stake it into the ground to prevent the pole from toppling.