May Festivals have been going on for centuries, especially in Britain and Ireland. Some of our most popular May rituals date back to the Romans and their festival Floralia. Flora, the Roman goddess of Spring, had the job breathing on the land to warm it up. In response, all the flowers would appear. But this goddess has a Greek counterpart–a nymph named Maia for whom this month is named after.
In Ireland, the Celtic fire festival of Beltane announce the change of season from Spring into Summer and used the be celebrated at the end of April and into early May. (Because so many calendars changed over the centuries, and months moved around, some people celebrate this festival later in May). This was one of the annual fertility festivals that symbolized the return of warmth and life after the bleakness of Winter. Around this time of year, farmers would begin cleaning and prepping their fields, women would clean out their homes, and animals would be shifted to summer pastures.
One of the fun events that took place this time of year was dancing around the Maypole. Children would dance around the poles with flowers and ribbons in order to frighten away the evil spirits that were believed to roam the earth during the darkest days of Winter. Depending on where you are in the world, the maypole was either wrapped in ribbons or covered with flowers. Besides dancing around a pole, one of the female children would be chosen as the May Queen. It was a huge honor to be chosen as May Queen, and this young woman would be in charge of all of the May festival activities. In Britain, there was also a May King–the boy who could race around a Hawthorn tree (also known as a May tree) the fastest.
Of all of the fun May activities, my favorite is one that I used to do as a young girl when I was in Catholic school. It’s called “Going a Maying”. As Christianity replaced paganism, people shifted their attention from the goddess Flora to the Blessed Mother. Which is why May is the month dedicated to Mary, the mother of Jesus. Anyway, “Going a Maying” referred to the practice on May Day Eve where kids would scour the woods and fields for flowers and greenery from the Hawthorn tree. It was considered bad luck to bring in branches from the Hawthorn tree earlier than May 1 because of it’s medical properties. The kids would bring back all of these flowers and branches to their homes, and then they’d make garlands. The kids would then go through the neighborhood singing songs (like caroling) and selling the garlands. When they had one garland left, they’d take it to the church in town where the money would be placed in the poor box and the crown would be placed on the statue of Mary.
Regardless of how you celebrate this month, if at all, I hope you all have a lovely May filled with sunshine and flowers. And, if you’re lucky enough to have a Hawthorn tree in your yard, take a branch and tie it to your front door. Apparently it will bring both good luck and protection until Summer’s end.
