May Day

The First of May: May Day

The birds are singing at their heartiest before and around dawn. For the Celts this was Beltane, they used to turn their flocks out onto their summer grazing and the gods were invoked for their protection until Halloween. Celebrated with bonfires, the crowning of the May Queen and Robin Hood plays. Jack-in-the-Green Sweeps' Festivals, Morris and maypole dancing. Everyone can rise early with the birdsong and wash their face in the dew.

Common Ground produce postcards celebrating festivals such as May Day (see illustration left). In 1988 they created the poster "Mayday! Mayday! Nature's Call For Help" showing 101 ways in which we all can make a difference to our surroundings. The poster originally appeared in The Independent newspaper and continues to be both relevant and popular. Copies of the poster and cards can be ordered from our publications pages.

The international distress signal "Mayday!" derives from the French "M'aidez" - 'help me'. "May Day? What's he talking about? That was weeks ago, it's nearly June!" (Tony Hancock in 'The Radio Ham', BBC 1962).

Maypoles

Ansty, Wilts - 96 feet, believed to be tallest in the country.
Burnstall, Yorks.
Brockham Green, Surrey - local school children dance around the maypole on the village green, unless the ground is wet then the maypole is set up in the school yard (May Day unless a weekend then the Friday before). Teas are served on the green from the end of May until Bonfire Saturday when the weather allows. Contact Mrs Plumb, Parish Clerk, +44(0)1737 843471. Brockham also has bonfire celebrations in November.
Buckhorn Weston, Dorset;
Skinnington - N.Yorks, has a Steel maypole;
Offenham, Worcs has a permanent pole of 64 feet - on 1st May there is maypole dancing by villagers and displays of morris dancing;
May Day sees dancing & a procession at Ickwell Green, Beds. Find out more on their web-site.
In Wellow, Notts, the maypole is topped by a golden weathervane and stands permanently on the village green.
On the second or third Saturday in May there is Maypole dancing around the permanent maypole at Welford-on-Avon, Warks.

'Obby 'Osses

Padstow, Cornwall. The Padstow 'obby 'oss is reputedly the oldest dance festival in Europe. There are two 'osses, the older Red 'oss and the Blue "Peace" 'oss which dates from the early 1900s. The Blue 'oss starts the procession, coming out from the Institute at 10am and the Red 'oss sets off on a different route from the Golden Lion an hour later. Both are goaded by a Teaser and lead a proecession of onlookers carrying spring flowers and singing the May Song. There are also two children's 'osses that appear at around 8.00am and dance around the town for about an hour (thanks to George Bennett for information). Contact Padstow TIC, +44(0)1841 533449.

Minehead. The Minehead 'obby 'oss - known as the the Sailors Horse - proceeds from the Quay around town on Warning Night, May Day Eve. On May Day morning at dawn, the horse proceeds from the Quay again and later the crowning of the May Queen takes place. He goes around town throughout the day, and then on to Yarn Market, Dunster Castle and Dunster Village in the evening. It proceeds through town over the next two evenings.

There is a booting on the outskirts of Minehead when victims are caught and booted by the horse while being held by the crew. There is a further penalty of having to dance with the horse without being lashed by its tale. There is also live music on Friday Night. The Horse, as one legend says, may have been a way of scaring Danes and other invaders from the coast. There is also a legend locally that a cow was washed ashore from a shipwreck and its tail was cut off, attached to the Hobby Horse and used to chastise people. Contact Minehead TIC +44(0)1643 702624.

Other May Day Events

Beating the Bounds, May 1st or more usually after Rogation Sunday. A custom dating from the 5th century when parishioners asked for God's blessing to protect their crops. During the Reformation walking the parish boundary became a more important part of the ceremony as it provided the community with a mental map which could be drawn on in disputes over boundaries. Celebrated with Ganging Beer and Rammalation biscuits. 

You can read about the May Day celebrations at Grange Community School in Burton upon Trent, Staffs, and see some pictures drawn by the children, here.

Deptford Jack in the Green is taken out by Fowlers Troop on May 1st - see their web-site for more information.

Wessex Morris Men dance above the Cerne Abbas Giant, Dorset, at dawn, around 5.20am. They then walk down the hill collecting may and dance and process through Cerne Abbas accompanied by the Dorset Ouser (or Ooser), a horned animal-like figure. Contact Alan Cheeseman on +44(0)1258 880451 or look at the Wessex Morris web-site.

May Morning, Ampthill Park, Beds. At 5.20am on 1st May each year Redbornstoke Morris and Bedfordshire Lace dance in celebration of May Day at Catherine's Cross before adjourning to The Old Sun for breakfast. Though both morris sides are revivals, neither has overlooked the fact that the folk tradition is a living and changing one. Bedfordshire Lace dances a unique version of "Ilmington" and Redbornstoke dances "Ampthill" in the summer and "Marston Moretaine" in the winter - both created by themselves. For more details see their web-site.

May Day Dancing at Aldbury, Herts, from 6.15am to dawn. Read more on the Aldbury Morris web-site.

May Fairs over and around the May Day bank holiday weekend, notably at Knutsford, Cheshire, where a large funfair accompanies the traditional May Day celebrations on the Heath; Ludlow, Shropshire, a 17th century fair celebrated by AE Housman in no fewer than three of his poems, held in Castle Square and Mill Street; and Beaconsfield, Bucks, a one-day fair that is spread along the crossroads at the centre of the town; and at Hereford, a fair granted to the bishop of Hereford in 1117 with amusements spread through the city centre, including the historic High Town and part of the cathedral green. At the opening ceremony, the bishop is presented with token rent for the fair - twelve and a half bushels of best wheat. Find out more about English fairs at the Showmen's Guild web-site.

Madrigal, 6am, Magdalen College, Oxford - hundreds of students attend after all night celebrations (not open to the public). See another event in Oxford in September.

May Balls held across the country.

Blossom Day, Norton Priory, Runcorn, Cheshire. A celebration of the blossom of fruit trees in the walled garden orchard. Cheshire Landscape Trust (+44(0)1244 376333). More events at Norton Priory in October and on Apple Day.

Riding the Bounds, Berwick on Tweed - a 10-mile perambulation of the parish bounds on horseback by the mayor and officials. Some of the parish boundaries are borders with Scotland. Registeration is necessary for anyone who wants to participate. Contact Liz Hope at Berwick Borough Council (+44(0)1289 330044)

Charlton on Otmoor, Oxfordshire, has a flora procession - children carry a garland of flowers to the village church for a service, followed by maypole dancing and country dancing. Contact Charlton on Otmoor School +44(0)1865 331239

Read about River Customs for May Day

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Common Ground can accept no responsibility for the accuracy of the information given in this calendar. Events may be altered or cancelled without our knowledge - Always check first with organisers before travelling.