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reetings from Australia.
Welcome to
this Red-Letter Day. Below you will find today's global celebrations,
birthdays and events.
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Fair Flora! Now attend thy sportful feast,
Of which some days I with design have past;
A part in April and a part in May
Thou claim'st, and both command my tuneful lay;
And as the confines of two months are thine
To sing of both the double task be mine. Latin
poet Ovid,
Fasti,
v, 185,
for Flora (Floralia) Apr 28 - May 3Roman calendar
Oak before
ash, we're in for a splash, ash before oak we're in for a soak. Traditional British weather prognostication sayingfor May
Hoar-frost on May 1st indicates a good harvest. Traditional English proverb
The later the
blackthorn in bloom after May
1st, the better the rye and harvest. Traditional English proverb
Nut for the slut; plum for the glum
Bramble if she ramble; gorse for the whores. Traditional English saying; one should
preferably leavehawthorn at a
friend's door for their luck, but other plants are an insult. I
suggest you leave the gorse at home.
Mary we crown you with blossoms today,
Queen of the Angels
And Queen of the May. Contemporary folk song sung by Roman
Catholic schoolchildren in the UK. The month of May is dedicated to
Mary.
At Philip and James,
away with the lambs;
That thinkest to any milk of their dams;
At Lammas leave
milking, for fear of a thing,
Lest in winter they sing.
To milk and to fold them, is much to require,
Except ye have pasture to fill their desire;
Yet many by milking (such heed do they take)
Not hurting their bodies, much profit do make.
Five ewes allow to every cow, make a proof by a score,
Shall double thy dairy or trust me no more:
Yet may a good huswife that knoweth the skill,
Have mixt or unmixt, at her pleasure and will.
...
Be sure thy neat
have water and meat;
From bull, cow fast, till Crouchmas be past;
From heifer bull bid thee till Lammas bid thee,
Leave cropping from May
to Michaelmas-day.
Thy brake go and sow where barley did grow;
The next crop wheat is husbandry neat.
Fine basil sow in a pot to grow;
Watch bees in May for swarming away. Thomas Tusser (1524 - 1580), Five
hundreth pointes of good husbandrie: as well for the champion or open
countrie, as also for the woodland or severall ; mixed in everie month
with huswiferie, over and besides the booke of huswiferie, London:
'Printed in the now dwelling house of Henrie Denham in Aldersgate Street
at the signe of the starre', 1586
And forth goeth al the court, both moste and leste,
To feche the floures freshe. Chaucer,
referring to the practice of gathering flowers on May Day
[The hawthorn's] later
orgiastic use … corresponds with the cult of the Goddess Flora, and..
accounts for the English medieval habit of riding out on May Morning
to pluck flowering hawthorn boughs and dance around the maypole.
Hawthorn blossom has, for many men, a strong scent of female
sexuality; which is why the Turks use a flowering branch as an erotic
symbol. Robert Graves
(1895 -
1985), The
White Goddess, p. 176
Sin no more, as we have done, by staying
But, my Corinna, come, let's go a Maying. Robert Herrick
(1591 -
1674)
Hark! The sea-faring
wild-fowl loud proclaim
My coming, and the swarming of the bees.
These are my heralds, and behold! my name
Is written in blossoms on the hawthorn-trees.
I tell the mariner when to sail the seas;
I waft o'er all the land from far away
The breath and bloom of the Hesperides,
My birthplace. I am Maia. I am May. HW
Longfellow(1807
- '82); The Poet's Calendar for
May
I shall never forget the delight I felt on first
seeing a May-pole...My fancy adorned it with wreaths of flowers and
peopled the green bank with all the dancing revelry of May-day. Washington Irving(1783 -
1859), American author, after a visit to
England in the early C19; Sketch
Book
For the May Day is the great day,
Sung along the old straight track.
And those who ancient lines did ley
Will heed this song that calls them back. Ian Anderson of
Jethro Tull
When vice prevails, and impious men bear sway, The post of honour is a private station. Joseph Addison, English
essayist, born on May 1, 1672; Cato, IV:1
Man is the merriest species of the creation; all
above or below him are serious. Joseph Addison
(Tea is) The infusion of a China plant sweetened
with the pith of an Indian cane. Joseph Addison; The Spectator, 69
Thus I live in the world rather as a spectator of
mankind than as one of the species. Joseph Addison; The Spectator, 1
I value my garden more for being full of
blackbirds than of cherries, and very frankly give them fruit for
their songs. Joseph Addison; The Spectator, 477
Pray for the dead and fight like
hell for the living! Mother Jones,
Irish-American IWW
union organizer, born on May 1, 1830
I have seen
mothers take their babes and slap cold water in their face to wake the
poor little things. I have watched them all day long tending the
dangerous machinery. I have seen their helpless limbs torn off, and
then when they were disabled and of no more use to their master,
thrown out to die. I must give the company credit for having hired a
Sunday school teacher to tell the little things that "Jesus put
it into the heart of Mr. - to build that factory so they would have
work with which to earn a little money to enable them to put a nickel
in the box for the poor little heathen Chinese babies. Mother Jones
I live in the
United States, but I do not know exactly where. My address is wherever
there is a fight against oppression. My address is like my shoes; it
travels with me. I abide where there is a fight against wrong. Mother Jones;Autobiography
There are no limits to which powers of
privilege will not go to keep the workers in slavery. Mother Jones; ibid
I asked a man in prison once how he
happened to be there and he said he had stolen a pair of shoes. I told
him if he had stolen a railroad he would be a United States Senator Mother Jones; ibid
I have always advised men to read. All my
life I have told them to study the works of those great authors who
have been interested in making this world a happier place for those
who do its drudgery. Mother Jones; ibid
The future is in labor's strong, rough
hands. Mother Jones; ibid
From
out of the military prison wall of Pratt, West Virginia, where I have
walked over my eighty-fourth milestone in history, I send you the
groans and tears and heartaches of men, women, and children as I have
heard them in this state. From out these prison walls, I plead with you
for the honor of the nation, to push that investigation, and the
children yet unborn will rise and call you blessed. Mother
Jones
The past has revealed to me the structure of the
future. Pierre Teilhard de
Chardin, French Christian mystical writer, born on May 1,
1881
Pushed
one against the other by the growth of their number and by the
proliferation of their connections, approached one to the other by the
reawakening of a common force and by the feeling of a common anxiety,
the future human kind will form nothing but an unified consciousness. Pierre
Teilhard de Chardin
It's the
merrie, merrie month, as the English have long called the beautiful month
of May.
Their ancestors, the Anglo-Saxons, called it thrimilce, because at this time of
year cows can be milked three times a day. The modern name is thought by
some scholars to come from the Latin Maia
(consort of Jupiter, mother of
Hermes, or Mercury), the goddess of growth and
increase. It is also connected with major,
because in the Northern Hemisphere, May is a beautiful time of Spring
growth.
Despite the congeniality of the month, it was
also an old belief that May is an unlucky month in which to be married.
This superstition, current even today, is Roman in origin and was
mentioned by the Roman poet, Ovid. Lovers should wait until the propitious month
of June before tying the knot.
Those born in the first three weeks of May were
born under the sign of Taurus, and from May 21 to June 20, Gemini is the
ruling sun sign and represents the mythological twins Castor and
Pollux, the twins of Leda, who appeared to sailors in storms with fires on
their heads.
Many old sayings refer to May, but of course one
must remember that they generally refer to the month in the Northern
Hemisphere, where the climate differs completely from Australia. One old
proverb goes, "Cast not a clout till May is out", meaning do not shed
your winter clothing (clout) too early in the year, because cold weather
can still come. Another says "Wash a blanket in May/Wash a dear one
away", indicating that death will strike the family or friends of those
who do so.
Some other May proverbs are:
Be
it weal or be it woe,
Beans blow before May doth go.
Come
it early or come it late,
In May comes the cow-quake.
A swarm of bees in May
Is worth a load of hay.
A swarm of bees in June
Is worth a silver spoon.
A swarm of bees in July
Is not worth a fly.
The
haddocks are good,
When dipped in May flood.
Mist
in May, and heat in June,
Make the harvest right soon.
A hot May makes a
fat churchyard.
(Meaning that many people will die.)
Festivals in May
The Northern nations have many festivals in May
because the weather turns to a suitable temperature and Mother Nature
turns on her most beautiful colours and fragrances. For example, the
Macedonians, on the Orthodox Feast Day of St George (May 6), dance the hora and perform various ancient
rituals and games associated with eggs, as we do at Easter.
At Helston, Cornwall, on May 8, the
townsfolk have for centuries celebrated Furry Day, with dances, songs and
rites whose origins and purpose have long been lost in the mists of time.
The English for two hundred years or more
celebrated Shick-Shack Day (or, Oak Apple Day) on May 29, the
birthday of King Charles II who brought back monarchy to Britain after the
strict Puritan regime of Oliver
Cromwell.
May, however, is known especially for May Day,
the first day of the month, which in olden times was celebrated as the
great, colourful Spring festival, with May poles that were danced around,
and fairs at which dramas, often featuring Robin Hood and his "merrie
men", were performed. Morris dancers were and still are a delightful
part of the English May Day.
In the Celtic tradition, now popular with
neo-Pagans, the day is called Beltaine
(or Beltane). The Scots used to light bel-fires on the hilltops and drive
their cattle through the flames in a ritual which was either to destroy
vermin and protect the cattle from disease, or to prepare the beasts for
sacrifice.
May Day commenced in ancient Rome, with youths
going into the fields, dancing and singing in honour of Flora, goddess of
fruits and flowers. The goddess Bona Dea, too, was
celebrated at around this time, in women-only rites.
In recent years, May Day became an annual
celebration not so much of the glories of Spring but of the traditions of
the labour movement. This is because on May 1, 1886 in America, workers
held the first nationwide strike, struggling to win an eight-hour working
day. Three years later, in 1889, the anniversary was held as the first
International Labor Day. On May Day, still, in towns and cities all over
the world, workers' organizations stage rallies and marches ...
... Much more May and May Day folklore and
customs
at the big Merrie Month
of May page at the Scriptorium
Every May Day since time immemorial the
people of Padstow, Cornwall have enjoyed their Hobby Horse (Obby Oss;
Obby 'Oss) parade. The
first written reference to this ancient procession was
written in 1502. The Hobby Horse might come from ancient fertility rites
(horses are a potent symbol) or from the legend of the Cornish saint,
Petroc
(feast day,
June 4), who led a
monster into the ocean as banishment.
Obby Oss at YouTube
Preceded by white-clad
men (teazers) is the horse,
forty kilos of stick, cloth and a stylized horse's head with big red eyes and snapping teeth.
The men prepare for their singing procession for days before and sing an
ancient song with
special words that change for each householder they are serenading.
The world-famous custom has roots at least as far
back as the 14th Century, but is probably derived from a more ancient
summer fertility rite, and annually welcomes people who travel hundreds
of miles, even further, to attend. There are some similarities between
this festival and the
Lajkonik
hobby horse festival in
Kraków, Poland. In
particular the idea that young women my be captured or struck with a
stick in order to bring them luck or fertility suggests a pagan, or at
least medieval origin.
May Day in Padstow officially begins at midnight,
when a groups of 'mayers' meet outside the Golden Lion Inn and
serenade the owner and family with their 'Night Song':
Arise up Mr ---- and joy you betide
For summer is acome unto day,
And bright is your bride that lies by your side,
In the merry morning of May.
Arise up Mrs ---- and gold be your ring,
For summer is acome unto day,
And give to us a cup of ale the merrier we shall sing,
In the merry morning of May.
Arise up Miss ---- all in your gown of green
For summer is acome unto day,
You are as fine a lady as wait upon the Queen,
In the merry morning of May.
The 'oss' itself
looks as little like a horse as can be imagined. One might say 'osses',
for more than one of these creatures parades around the town of Padstow
– there is even a children's oss.
The nursery rhyme, 'Ride a cock horse to Banbury
Cross' hints at ancient memories of this custom, while its second line,
'To see a fine lady upon a white horse' might be a reference to the
annual ride of Lady
Godiva though the streets of Coventry.
Traditionally, after the hobby horse had been
taken round the town, it was submerged in the sea, recalling St Petroc and
the monster, or phantom, whose name was Tregeagle (pronounced 'Dree-gaygle'). The ancient lore is
inconsistent on this, and the monster or serpent seems to have become
confused or conflated with an actual wicked person of the name Jan
Tregeagle, although in a Latin tale, the serpent was one originally
inflicted on the locals by a savage man named Teudur (Tendur; Teudur;
Tendurus). Petroc made a chain, forged with his own hands, every link of
which he welded with a prayer, and bound the monster, banishing it (either
into the sea or to Berepper beach).
(More)
In olden times, people believed
that the obby oss ritualpreserved
the cattle of the inhabitants of Padstow from disease and death, and the
ritual has strong elements of the banishment of Satan. The water-horse is
a common Celtic tradition, and we also find it in the Arabian Nights,
and in the stories of southern European countries.
"Formerly in this county it was the custom in most farm-houses for any
servant who could bring in a branch of hawthorn in full blossom to receive a
dish of cream for breakfast. To this practice the following rhyme apparently
alludes:—
From Wikipedia:
Maid Marian is the female companion to the legendary figure Robin
Hood.
The earliest Medieval
Robin Hood stories gave him no female companion. The Robin Hood character
at this time was rather brutish woodsman and a female companion would have
been out of place.
Maid Marian was originally a character in May
Games festivities (held during May and early June, most commonly around Whitsun)
and is sometimes associated with the Queen or Lady of May and/or May
Day. It has been suggested that she became associated with Robin Hood
in this context, as Robin Hood became a central figure in May Day,
associated as it was with the forest and archery.
Marian is likely derived from the French
tradition of a shepherdess named Marion and her shepherd lover Robin (not
Robin Hood). The best known example of this tradition is Adam
de la Halle's Le
Jeu de Robin et Marion, circa 1283.
In narrative terms, Maid Marian was first
attached to Robin Hood in the late sixteenth century as Robin was
gentrified and given a virginal maid to pine after. Her biography and
character have been highly variable over the centuries, being sometimes
portrayed as a pagan or Saxon
and other times as a high born Norman.
(Marian's role was not entirely virginal in the early days. In 1592,
Thomas Nashe described the Marian of the later May Games as being played
by a male actor named Martin, and there are hints in the play of Robin
Hood and the Friar that the female character in these plays had become a
lewd parody.)
Maid Marian's character evolved, becoming
conflated with the Goddess Diana
as she became portrayed as a skilled huntress that fought alongside Robin.
In the Victorian
Era she reverted to her previous role as the dainty maid. With the
rise of modern feminism
in the 20th
Century, the character has often been depicted as an adventurer again,
sometimes as a crack archer
herself. In modern times, a common ending for Robin Hood stories became
that he married Maid Marian and left the woods for a civilized
aristocratic life. See also Maid
Marian and her Merry Men for a modern role reversal.
Find an error or dead link?
Like to make a suggestion, or just say "G'day"?
Meet me at Corrigenda
Chimney sweeps' festival May Day was in
olden times the first day of the Londonchimney-sweeps'
festival, a three day revel in which chimney sweeps wore gold paper
and flowers on their clothes and hats. They also had their shovels
and faces lined with pink paint and white chalk. They chose a
grandly-dressed lord and lady from some other profession, the lady
often being a boy in extravagant female attire.
As part of chimney-sweeps' revels it was
customary for a boy to move about in a framework of branches covered
in leaves. He was called Jack-in-the-green.
Jack, a Green
Man sometimes also showed up in London suburbs, hailing from the
country, amusing the public with rustic dancing. He carried a
flower-decked walking stick.
Bonfires From time immemorial, bonfires have been
associated with May Eve and
May Day in Britain. Originally dedicated to the pagan solar god Bel, or
Balder, in Ireland these fires were once called Balder's balefires. Until
the nineteenth century, May Day bonfires were still lit in the
Scottish highlands, Ireland and the Isle of Man, among the
peasantry.
A-Maying In Britain it used to be
customary today to go a-Maying,
or gathering flowers and branches, particularly of the May bush.
May Queen In old Britain on May Day,
folk elected the Queen of the
May, a pretty girl to preside over the day's events, which
usually meant sitting in a garlanded bower all day and being admired
by the whole village.
The
old British (and French) custom the Queen of the May today came from
the ancient Roman veneration of Flora, goddess of flowers and
youthful pleasures, for whom a sexually licentious festival was held
at this time of year. In some villages, children carried around a
finely-dressed doll called the Lady of the May. With little copies
of maypoles, they went about the village asking for a halfpenny.
May cows Up until the early
nineteenth century in Britain, on May Day milkmaids would dress up a
cow in garlands. They, too, dressed in flowers and danced around the
cow. In earlier times they were accompanied by a man wearing a bulky
frame on which were hung flowers, silver flagons and dishes. The
silverware was rented out at an hourly rate by pawnbrokers.
May cosmetics On the morning of May Day,
Scottish lasses used to go out early and wash their faces in dew, a
sure potion for preserving beauty. In Edinburgh the favourite place
to do this was Arthur's Seat. Similarly, at Anhalth, Germany,
girls did the same to get rid of freckles.
Royal May Day In medieval England, even
the king and queen joined in with the May Day festivities. Chaucer
wrote that early on May Day Forth
goeth all the court, both most and least, to fetch the flowers fresh.
May scapegoat In old Scotland and
Ireland, May Day rituals were, among other things, an attempt to
stop the spread of witchcraft. Whoever received a piece of cake
marked with charcoal served as scapegoat for witches, becoming a
figure of terror and being pelted with eggshells. (By way of
comparison, in Germany it was customary to throw eggshells at a
disagreeable stranger.)
Bannock rolling Up till about a hundred
years ago, Beltane (the old pagan name for May Day) was celebrated
in Scotland with bonfires to which eggs and dairy products were
brought as sacrifices. Beltane was also celebrated with bannocks (cakes) which were
marked with a cross and rolled downhill. It might be that the custom
of Easter egg rolling came from this practice, as Easter is about
this time of year.
Garland
Dressing, Charlton-on-Oxmoor, Oxfordshire, UK A wooden cross is bedecked with Yew and Box tree
leaves.
Callander custom At Callander, a town in
Perthshire, Scotland, on Beltane
(May Day) boys used to meet on the moors, where they lit a fire and
cooked a custard and bannock
cake. After eating the custard they divided the bannock, one piece
of which was marked with charcoal. Whoever drew this slice had to
jump through the fire three times, a relic of ancient bonfire (bone-fire) sacrifices to Bel
the god of Beltane.
Unlucky weddings
From as early as Roman times comes the tradition
mentioned by Ovid, and still prevalent in Europe, that May is an
unlucky month in which to be married. This is probably because in
Rome this was the month for the festival of Bona
reetings from Australia.
How it works
A-Maying