Being someone who is an avid supporter of village traditions the first of May could not go by without a mention of May Day. There are so many wonderful traditions that surround this day - washing your face in May Day due will make you beautiful for the coming year,
May garlands and May Lifting, the tradition of local boys carrying a girl in a floral decorated chair who would then find the boy of her dreams the following day. As children, May Day was celebrated in our household as my Mum was a Morris Dancer. Morris Dancing, Green Men and Maypole dancing are all key parts of a traditional May Day celebration. We usd to go to Ampthill Park in Bedfordshire, arriving at 5.30am. As the sun rose, people would dance accompanied by the green man next to Catherine of Arragon's Cross (as a complete aside the golden hare from the Masqerade book in the 1980s was buided in the park near the cross until it was found be a clever man who managed to unravel all the clues and codes - we tried and failed!).
After sun rise we would go to a local pub which opened its doors early to serve breakfast before heading off to school. Sadly we live quite a way from Ampthill now and attending would require a very early start. My mum still goes and perhaps one of these years we will join her again! May Day celebrations continue this weekend and we are hoping to go to the May Queen pagent at Ickwell - with traditional May Pole Dancing and decorated hoop competitions and a real life May Queen with attendants and sceptre bearers.
Happy May Day everyone - and don't forget to wash your faces in the dew this morning - I will be!
Being someone who is an avid supporter of village traditions the first of May could not go by without a mention of May Day. There are so many wonderful traditions that surround this day - washing your face in May Day due will make you beautiful for the coming year, 
May garlands and May Lifting, the tradition of local boys carrying a girl in a floral decorated chair who would then find the boy of her dreams the following day. As children, May Day was celebrated in our household as my Mum was a Morris Dancer. Morris Dancing, Green Men and Maypole dancing are all key parts of a traditional May Day celebration. We usd to go to Ampthill Park in Bedfordshire, arriving at 5.30am. As the sun rose, people would dance accompanied by the green man next to Catherine of Arragon's Cross (as a complete aside the golden hare from the Masqerade book in the 1980s was buided in the park near the cross until it was found be a clever man who managed to unravel all the clues and codes - we tried and failed!). 
After sun rise we would go to a local pub which opened its doors early to serve breakfast before heading off to school. Sadly we live quite a way from Ampthill now and attending would require a very early start. My mum still goes and perhaps one of these years we will join her again! May Day celebrations continue this weekend and we are hoping to go to the May Queen pagent at Ickwell - with traditional May Pole Dancing and decorated hoop competitions and a real life May Queen with attendants and sceptre bearers.
Happy May Day everyone - and don't forget to wash your faces in the dew this morning - I will be!
2 comments:
Happy May Day Hannah! We don't have those wonderful traditions here, sadly, today is just like any other day.
I did spend the morning cutting lilacs and arranging them in vases however - that is my annual "May" tradition.
Happy May Day Hannah. Back home we would mark May Day by the making of a little posy of flowers to leave on a friends doorstep annonymously. I love the British traditions as well. This is such a wonderful country to live in, is it not!
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