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The Maypole and other May Day Traditions

The beginning of May was an important feast day in many ancient cultures, a time to celebrate the coming of summer. The Druids of the British Isles thought that May 1, the Feast of Beltane, divided the year in half, with the other half ending on Samhain on November 1. Both days were celebrated by lighting new fires and dancing. The Romans devoted the beginning of May to the worship of Flora, the goddess of flowers. When the Romans invaded the British Isles, many of the Floralia traditions were added to the Beltane celebrations. Today’s May Day customs combine traditions with roots in both cultures.

By the Middle Ages, every English village had its own Maypole, with villages competing to see who could produce the tallest Maypole. Larger towns had permanent Maypoles set up in town squares or marketplaces. The tradition of erecting a Maypole and dancing around it is also very popular and still practiced in many parts of Europe, including France, Germany, Scotland, Sweden, Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Finland. In Sweden and parts of Finland, the Maypole dance is used to celebrate Midsummer as well.

Usually, the poles were set up for the day, although larger towns had permanent Maypoles erected in town squares. Youths would fell trees—usually hawthorne or birch—with long, straight trunks, lop off the branches, and then bring it back to the village while blowing on horns and flutes. The pole would often be crowned by a wreath and decorated in greenery.

Colorful ribbons are tied to the top of the pole, which then wrap around the pole in a variety of patterns by the dancers, each holding a ribbon. Today, the dance is often performed by children. Pairs of boys and girls stand facing each other and then dance in opposite directions while weaving in and around each other. As they dance, the ribbons form colorful patterns around the pole as the dancers’ circle brings them closer and closer to the pole, and to each other.

Other traditional May Day celebrations include choosing a May queen, and hanging May baskets filled with flowers on doorknobs. A variation on the May Day Maypole is garlanding: children decorate smaller sticks that have cross-sticks or swags attached with flowers, greenery or colorful paper and ribbons. Children make these poles and then take them to school on May Day, where prizes might be awarded for the most elaborate poles.

The Maypole tradition survived many cultural changes, including hostility from Puritans, who saw the Maypole as a pagan symbol that encouraged mixed gender dancing, drunkenness and general merry-making. Maypoles were banned in many English towns, beginning in 1570. The Maypole became something of a political symbol of resistance, and was then generally revived after the Restoration. In France, the May Pole became known as the “Tree of Liberty” after the Revolution.

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