May Day

Today is the first day of May, a day that traditionally marks the first day of summer. The weather is superb today, as you can see from the sunlight on this blooming magnolia tree and the blue sky against which it is contrasted. Let us hope that a glorious First of May is a good omen for the season to come.

Traditional May Day celebrations included dancing around maypoles and the appearance of 'hobby horses' and characters such as 'Robin Hood' and 'Jack in Green'. There are various connections with Fertlity Rites that it would not be delicate to present on so distinguished a site as BlipFoto!

First thing in the morning on May 1st, young girls used to rush out into the garden to wash their faces in the May dew. Some of the oldest May Day traditions are connected with dew. According to folklore, the dew on 1 May has magical properties and anyone who washes their face in it will have a flawless complexion for the entire year. May dew was also said to be able to remove spots, freckles and pimples. The best way to be sure of catching the early dew was to stay out all night in the woods or meadows (see later) - though some might suspect other motives for such an adventure. In 1583, puritan Philip Stubbes recorded that of the girls who spent the May Day eve in the woods, "scarcely the third part of them returned home again undefiled." The modern obsessions with appearance and young people's sexual behaviour go back quite some way. A traditional rhyme says that the maid who rises early on May morning "And washes in dew from the hawthorn tree,/ Will ever after handsome be." Others suggest that the dew had to be collected from ivy leaves, or from grass under oak trees. The one factor universally agreed upon is that the dew is only effectual at or just before sunrise.

Greenery was collected by primary school children to make garlands. In many English villages children would parade with garlands of flowers, sometimes fastened to sticks or in the shape of a cross, or fixed to hoops. This was done in the hope of collecting money. Sometimes this was known as May Dolling because often placed in the centre of the garland was a small doll. At Charlton-on-Otmoor, Oxfordshire, a large wooden cross covered with yew and box leaves stands above the rood screen in the church. On May Day this is taken down and redecorated with fresh greenery and flowers and the children carry small decorated crosses around the village and bring them to a special service. Also in Oxfordshire at Brampton, the Spring Bank Holiday marks the beginning of the traditional Morris Dance Season. (I regret to say that even May Morning Dew does not ward off Morris Dancing!) In the morning children bring out a selection of garlands which are judged in a competition at lunch time. May dolls are sometimes used in these.

May Morning is an annual celebratory event in Oxford. It starts early at 6am with the Magdalen College Choir singing a hymn, the Hymnus Eucharisticus, from the top of Magdalen Tower, a tradition of over 500 years. Large crowds normally gather under the tower along the High Street and on Magdalen Bridge. This is then followed by general revelry and festivities including Morris dancing, impromptu music, etc., for a couple of hours. There is a party atmosphere, despite the early hour. In fact, there are normally all-night balls the night before, so some people (especially students) are in formal attire (e.g., black tie/white tie or ball gown).

There is a recent tradition of students jumping from Magdalen Bridge. This seems to have started in the early 1980s. The months that precede May can be relatively dry, and lead to a rather shallow river. This has resulted in some instances of serious injury (including a person left paralysed), most notably those of 2005. The exceptionally low water resulted in around half the hundred or so jumpers requiring medical treatment. As a consequence, the bridge was closed on every May Morning since 2006, until its reopening in 2011.

In the 19th century, the young townsmen blew horns and ran riot, after the singing. Activities have varied over the previous centuries. You will note that my proscription on writing about Fertility Rites limits what I can say about the "activities", but I can at least say that the all-night revelry puts the dew-collectors in a good position to collect their magic water before sunrise.