On May Day (Beltane)

(From John Foster's Web page) Beltane

Mayday is one of the few festivals that still exists in its own right and has not been swamped by a Christian festival placed on the same date in an effort to hide its origin. May day in most peoples eyes in the UK is the "new" bank holiday that was given during the years of Harold Wilson's term as the Prime Minster of Parliament I believe that May of 1975 was the first May Day holiday in the UK.

Mayday was a custom that marked an important seasonal transition in the year. Putting a maypole up involved all the village taking a growing tree from the wood, and bringing the tree into the village to decorated in flowers and leaves to mark the season summer oncoming season of the summer.

Mayday used to be a period of great sexual licence. People would go off into the woods to collect their trees and green boughs, but once there, would enter into all sorts of temporary sexual liaisons which society did not normally accept.

Mayday as such no longer is held in this form as during the 1700 century Mayday became under attack from the Puritans and was eventually banned by Parliament in 1644 the section was called "Against May".

Mayday did return with the restoration of Charles the second in 1660, but it didn't have the same theme. It had the same old image, but the sexual elements dis-appeared. During the nineteenth century, the Victorians overlayed a moral tone on the festival, emphasising its innocence. Instead of being a celebration of fertility, it turned into a kind of commemoration of Merry England. The girls taking part now wore white and held posies.

Mayday as already mention was one of the most important days of the festival of the yester year now we are lucky if we see any of the old customs and traditions that go along with May Day. May was called "Maia" in honour of the goddess of growth by the Romans and by the Saxons "Thrimilci" which means simply the month in which cows can be milked 3 times a day. The Saxon s association with May and milk that the 'Milk Maids Dance' may have its origins.

The 'milk maids' would rise early in the morning on the first day of May and after carrying out some ritual ablutions would then dance in the streets of their village or town with as many milk containers as they could carry.

The Celts called the first day of May BELTANE which was called this as the Celts lit bonfires on the first day of May the meaning of which means BEL = bright or goodly TAN = fire, the Celtic May Day. It officially begins at moonrise on May Day Eve, and marks the beginning o+f the third quarter or second half of the ancient Celtic year. It is celebrated as an early pastoral festival accompanying the first turning of the herds out to wild pasture.
The rituals were held to promote fertility. The cattle were driven between the Belfires to protect them from ills. Contact with the fire was interpreted as symbolic contact with the sun.
The rowan branch is hung over the house fire on May Day to preserve the fire itself from bewitchment (the house fire being symbolic of the luck of the house.
In early Celtic times, the druids kindled the Beltane fires with specific incantations. Later the Christian church took over the Beltane observances, a service was held in the church, followed by a procession to the fields or hills,
It would appear that St Anne's Well Rd in Nottingham at the top was such a place where this took place, there is a well on St Anne's Well Rd hence the name but the true meaning of St Anne's Well is San meaning holy Tan meaning fire the words have been corrupted with time.

Another custom associated with the first day of May was the wide spread custom of couples to go off together into the woods on the May eve "there to make merrie sport"..

The Maypole was the focal point of many of the customs of May Day where the local villages would dance, along with the Morris Dancers. The Maypole its self would have been quite large as some old pictures show, but during the 1888 a shorter pole was introduced of which there are still some to be seen Nottingham only has one surviving permanent Maypole of any antiquity

The following places had a Maypole
Bradmore (Church SK5843115) Last known 1792
Boughton (Church SK 67856850) Last Known 1585
Clifton (Pole SK 54703476) Last known 1945
Farnsfield (Church SK 6455650) Last Known 1834
Gedling (Church SK 61814258) last known 1869
Gotham (Square SK 53603009) Last known 1937
Linby (Pole SK 53425099) Last known 1922
North Wheatley (Church SK 76198590) Last known 1884
Nottingham (Pole SK 57344008) Last Known 1780

(This is the site of the Old Corner Pin pub)
Stapleford (Pole SK 48903735) Last known 1810
Wellow (Pole SK 66956620) Still remaining
Woodborough (Pole SK 63504775) Last known 1979

As can be seen from the above many of the Maypoles where located very close to the village church, the church did not approve of the Maypole as it was an emblem of a yester year of the Pagan religion. Many of the Maypoles where destroyed by the church, in one way or another till this day there are few Maypoles left.

Mayday was and in some why's still is a popular custom, a people's day so it is not unatural that the Labour and socialist movements treated this day as part of the socialist calendar. It's only recently that the state has recognised May Day as a bank holiday (Re introduced by Haraold Wilson PM) for the first time since it had royal support back in the Elizabethan court, and there's been a big battle over this May Day which was seized upon by the Right as something foreign and left-wing.
I wonder how you remember May Day I would think not by the dancing of people round a Maypole more likely the Russian Armies displaying its war toys in Red Square in a vain attempt to display the Communist might, in years gone by.

Although Mayday means different things to different people I would much prefer to see the Maypole in the local village with the children happily dancing and singing announcing the
beginning of a new harvest in the making that Spring was here and the beginning of a new fruitful year, not the display of mankind's ability to destroy its self and take us to the final winter which nothing survives....