5 Bright and Beautiful May Day Traditions to Try This Year
Deep magic, bright colours and wishes granted
Hello,
I hope you’re all having a happy month, full of Spring Equinox fun.
I’m writing to you today because, believe it or not, next week it’s May Day, one of the the happiest, brightest festivals of the year. In the ancient calendar, this was sometimes regarded as the start of Summer. Yes, you read that right.
Whether you consider it to be late Spring or indeed early Summer, there’s no doubt that from now on things will really speed up as we head towards the longest day at the Summer Solstice in June.
I told you to make the most of the sleepy peace of Winter and early Spring didn’t I!
It’s all go go go from now on. So if you’re ready to embrace all things energetic and colourful, this newsletter is for you.
Together we’ll unravel the ancient origins of May Day, discover a few simple rituals to mark the day and welcome in a bright new season.
Who’s in?
Isn’t it too early to start thinking about Summer?
Yes, perhaps a little, but in the ancient calendar, the year was often divided into just two parts; the light half and the dark half. So May 1st marked the start of the light half of the year and the opening of the summer season.
Known as Beltane to the ancient Celts, this was the day cattle were driven out to the summer pastures, in a reversal of when they were brought down for the winter at Samhain (Halloween) six months previously.
Ok, tell me more about Beltane
The word Beltane is thought to mean ‘bright fire’ and the name is also used to refer to the month of May in the Irish language.
Traditionally celebrated on the eve of April 30th into the morning of May 1st, bonfires formed a central part of Beltane festivities. The smoke from such fires was thought to have cleansing and protective powers, particularly if herbs were added to the flames, so cattle were driven close to the fires, and people jumped over them to ask for good luck and prosperity in the months ahead.
As with all Celtic festivals though, you’d have to have your wits about you as at this time fairies or spirits were said to be active and could play mischievous tricks. This is why many of the old traditions have a protective element to them.
May trees were also decorated outside homes and thresholds were decked in flowers to protect against any wayward magic.
What about modern May Day celebrations?
Over time May Day celebrations have expanded to involve Maypole dancing, May Queens, flower wreaths, singing, dancing, general merriment and even an annual day of holiday in the UK.
This seems to be particularly the case in areas where there wasn’t so much anxiety around the protection of cattle and hence there was more freedom to enjoy the more lighthearted elements of the day.
The start of May was seen as a time of awakening and a chance to celebrate the fertility of the land, and look ahead to the warm summer months. The colourful Roman festival of Floralia is also thought to have played a part in influencing some of the traditions we follow today (although perhaps minus the nudity and gladiator fights). You can find out more about the Floralia in my April notebook.
Some elements of May Day are so interwoven with this date they have taken their name from it, such as Maypoles, May Blossom (Hawthorn) and May Queens.
At my primary school in the 1980s we were taught maypole dancing as part of the curriculum and a May Queen was elected every year to oversee an annual May Day festival. Does anyone else remember doing this, or was my school just very, very rural?!
The day itself was usually totally chaotic with kids getting tangled in ribbons and forgetting their steps, but I absolutely loved it (the poor teachers might have felt differently).
Sounds good. How can I celebrate May Day?
Below are a few ways to introduce the spirit of the May into your home.
1. Light a May Day candle
Light a candle on the 1st to celebrate the sun’s power in anticipation of a good year.
Traditionally in Celtic culture fires were lit on the evening before the 1st May as an act of protection. After the dark half of the year it was believed that a fire could revitalise and re-energise as well as bring good fortune in the important growing months of the calendar.
2. Dress thresholds with yellow flowers
As well as making homes look beautiful, this was also used as a means of protection against any wayward spirits or fairies that might be out and about.
Rowan, gorse, hazel and marsh marigold were some of the traditional flowers that were gathered and placed around windows and doorways on the eve of Beltane as yellow flowers were thought to represent the protective element of fire.
3. Decorate a May Tree
I love this tradition. A May Tree is a tree or bush outside your home that you decorate with colourful ribbons and small decorations on the eve of May Day. These trees were also sometimes called wishing trees; it was customary to make a wish for the year ahead as the ribbons and decorations were tied on to the branches.
Hawthorn trees were traditionally used for this, and Hawthorn trees growing next to water were considered particularly special, with the ribbons or strips of cloth being dipped into the water before being tied onto the tree.
4. Wash your face in dew
The dew of May Day morning was thought to have restorative and beautifying powers and according to folklore, bathing your face with dew on the morning of May 1st was thought to bring beauty and good health for the year ahead. This is one I’m absolutely trying.
5 Make a ribbon wreath or wand
Maypole dancing may have sadly fizzled out in many areas, but the colourful maypole ribbons are still an instant signifier of May Day. There are plenty of ribbon-based crafts that you can have a go at on May Day. You could make a ribbon-based wreath for your front door to mark the day, using a wire base and wrapping it with lengths of ribbon.
Or if you have children you could make mini ribbon wands. I made these last year and they were an instant hit. You just wrap lengths of bright coloured ribbons around a small stick, tying at the top and leaving the ends free, and you have an instant May Day wishing wand. Easy, fun and pretty.
Ok, that’s all for now, I hope you enjoyed your May Day newsletter and I hope you have a bright and happy day filled with light, colour and wishes granted.
Now it’s over to you to share your May Day rituals and traditions in the Comments. I’m really interested to know if anyone else celebrates it and if so what your rituals and traditions look like?
I’ll see you next week for a May edition of the Monthly Notebook. We’ll be diving into more early Summer rituals and I’ll add a sprinkling of weird and wonderful folklore for you too. Look forward to seeing you there. If you haven’t already Subscribed then just click below to make sure that post arrives safely in your inbox.
Vicky xx
So glad you found it useful! I love digging into all the old traditions 💫 The wheel of the year is brilliant as you get a new festival to celebrate every 6 weeks! ☺️
In 2000 I started working in a school in Cambridge, in the city. The small infant school was built in 1933 and closed down for good in 2003. They had their own maypole and a tradition of crowning a May Queen. I was 28 and had never had anything like this in my childhood. We learned all the dances ( I think 2-3 different ones) and joined in with the children with parents watching. Also invited were previous May queens and pupils, some of whom could remember doing it as far back as the 1930s. It was such fun. I always wonder what became of the school maypole.