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reetings from Australia. 

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Pip Wilson

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At Helstone, a genteel and populous borough town in Cornwall, it is customary to dedicate the eighth of May to revelry (festive mirth, not loose jollity). It is called the Furry Day, supposed Flora's Day; not, I imagine, as many have thought, in remembrance of some festival instituted in honour of that goddess, but rather from the garlands commonly worn on that day. In the morning, very early, some troublesome rogues go round the streets with drums, or other noisy instruments, disturbing their sober neighbours; if they find any person at work, make him ride on a pole, carried on men's shoulders, to the river, over which he is to leap in a wide place, if he can; if he cannot, he must leap in, for leap he must, or pay money. About 9 o'clock they appear before the school, and demand a holiday for the Latin boys, which is invariably granted; after which they collect money from house to house. About the middle of the day they collect together, to dance hand-in-hand round the streets, to the sound of the fiddle, playing a particular tune, which they continue to do till it is dark. This they call a 'Faddy.' In the afternoon the gentility go to some farm-house in the neighbourhood to drink tea, syllabub, etc., and return in a Morris dance to the town, where they form a Faddy, and dance through the streets till it is dark, claiming a right of going through any person's house, in at one door and out at the other. And here it formerly used to end, and the company of all kinds to disperse quietly to their several habitations; but latterly corruptions have in this, as in other matters, crept in by degrees. The ladies, all elegantly dressed in white muslins, are now conducted by their partners to the ball-room, where they continue their dance till supper-time; after which they all faddy it out of the house, breaking off by degrees to their respective houses. The mobility imitate their superiors, and also adjourn to the several public-houses, where they continue their dance till midnight. It is, upon the whole, a very festive, jovial, and withal so sober, and, I believe, singular custom; and any attempt to search out the original of it, inserted in one of your future Magazines, will very much please and gratify DURGAN.
A correspondent of The Gentleman's Magazine, 1790

The mind also has its divinity. We see that a shrine was vowed to Mens [Roman goddess of mind] during the terror of thy war (i.e. with Carthage) … Fear had driven out hope, when the Senate made vows to Mind [217 BCE], and straightway she came better disposed. The day on which the vows were paid to the goddess is separated from the coming Ides by six intermediate days.
Ovid, Fasti, VI. 241

Pomegranates ripen in the rains 
Of May, and yellow gages fall. 
In every field are tender plants. 
My fields are full of weeds, in heaps. 
From a traditional Chinese ballad, Meng Chiang Nyu's Lament, in Koo (date unknown). In the Han Dynasty, 2,000 years ago, today was considered the beginning of Summer.

It was at Rome, on the 15th of October 1764, as I sat musing amid the ruins of the capitol, while the bare-footed friars were singing vespers in the temple of Jupiter [presently the Church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli], that the idea of writing the decline and fall of the city first started to my mind …
Edward Gibbon, English historian, born on May 8, 1737 

How many souls have his writings polluted! Lord preserve others from their contagion!
Hannah More, religious reformer; on Edward Gibbon

I fired MacArthur because he wouldn't respect the authority of the President. I didn't fire him because he was a dumb son of a bitch, although he was, but that's not against the law for generals. If it was, half to three-quarters of them would be in jail.
Harry Truman, 33^rd US President, born on May 8, 1884 

A friend is someone you know about, someone you can trust.
A brand's a bit like that. You meet this friend through advertising ...
Without advertising, how would you recognize your friends?
International Association of Advertisers

One afternoon I was in there pouring Coke into a glass from a milk pitcher when I heard a voice coming cool through the screen of the radio speaker. Ricky Nelson was singing his new song, 'Travelin' Man.' Ricky had a smooth touch, the way he crooned in fast rhythm, the tonation of his voice. He was different than the rest of the teen idols, had a great guitarist who played like a cross between a honky-tonk hero and a barn-dance fiddler. Nelson had never been a bold innovator like the early singers, who sang like they were navigating burning ships. He didn't sing desperately, do a lot of damage, and you'd never mistake him for a shaman. It didn't feel like his endurance was ever being tested to the utmost, but it didn't matter. He sang his songs calm and stead like he was in the middle of a storm, men hurling past him. His voice was sort of mysterious and made you fall into a certain mood.
   I had been a big fan of Ricky's and still liked him, but that type of music was on its way out. It had no chance of meaning anything. There'd be no future for that stuff in the future. It was all a mistake. What was not a mistake was the ghost of Billy Lyons, rootin' the mountain down, standing 'round in East Cairo, Black Betty bam be lam. That was no mistake. That's the stuff that was happening. That's the stuff that could make you question what you'd always accepted, could litter the landscape with broken hearts, had power of spirit. Ricky, as usual, was singing bleached out lyrics. Lyrics probably written just for him. I'd always felt kin to him, though. We were about the same age, probably liked the same things, from the same generation although our life experience had been so dissimilar, him being brought up out West on a family TV show. It was like he'd been born and raised on Walden Pond where everything was hunky-dory, and I'd come out of the dark demonic woods, same forest, just a different way of looking at things. Ricky's talent was very accessible to me. I felt we had a lot in common. In a few years' time he'd record some of my songs. make them sound like they were his own, like he had written them himself. He eventually did write one himself and mentioned my name in it. Ricky, in about ten years' time, would even get booed while onstage for changing what was perceived as his musical direction. It turned out we did have a lot in common.
Bob Dylan, Chronicles: Volume One, Simon & Schuster, NY, 2004, pp 13 - 14; Ricky Nelson was born on May 8, 1940 (d. 1985)

May 8 is the 128^th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (129^th in leap years), with 237 days remaining.
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Second Saturday in May, International Migratory Bird Day

On the dating of items in the Almanac

International Migratory Bird Day celebrates the incredible journeys of migratory birds between their breeding grounds in North America and their wintering grounds in Mexico, Central, and South America. The event, which takes place on the second Saturday in May each year, encourages bird conservation and increases awareness of birds through hikes, bird watching, information about birds and migration, public events, and a variety of other education programs.

In 2007, the date of IMBD changed:

"IMBD officially takes place on the second Saturday in May each year. But we recognize that this date doesn't work well for all bird event and bird festival organizers, or for the migratory birds themselves. To the south, migratory birds have left, heading for breeding sites to the north. Farther north, the birds haven't arrived.

"We remedied this problem by removing the month and day from our bird education and festival materials, leaving only the year, while reminding groups that "everyday is bird day." Now, IMBD is celebrated almost year-round. Most U.S. and Canada events take place in April and May, while fall events are the norm in the Caribbean and Latin America."   Source

Ways to Celebrate

There are LOTS of possibilities...

• Take notice of the birds around you
• Point out these birds to someone else
• Create or improve habitat at home or school
• Build and maintain a bird feeder or bird house
• Buy and wear an IMBD t-shirt
• Keep your cat indoors – helps cat and birds!
• Reduce your use of pesticides in yard and garden
• Drink bird-friendly, shade-grown coffee
• Donate to a wildlife preservation fund or group
• Join a wildlife preservation group
• Volunteer your birding abilities
• Participate in a bird count or study
• Donate your binoculars to Birders' Exchange
• Get involved in community land-use planning
• Lead or attend a bird watching walk
• Take a class on migratory birds
• Teach students about migratory birds and IMBD
• Write a related article for a local paper
• Create an IMBD display for a school or library
• Attend or host an IMBD festival

Furry Day (Flora Day), Helston, Cornwall, UK

The ancient celebration of Flora Day (or Furry Day) with its Furry Dance is held today at Helston, Cornwall for its patron saint, the Archangel St Michael, but St George is equally important in the festivities. It is held annually on May 8 except when this date falls on a Sunday or Monday, when it is held on the preceding Saturday. The day now attracts many tourists and the media, with lady revellers dressed in full-length gowns, hat and gloves and the men in black morning suits and grey top hat, all participating in the old dances.

The unusual ancient name 'Furry' is probably derived from the Latin Feria (festival, holiday), and in the 18^th Century was incorrectly amended to 'Flora' after the Roman goddess of that name, whose spring festival in Rome around this time was the Floralia (April 28 - May 3).

By the 19^th Century, the 'furry dance' was called the Floral Dance. It is derived from a pre-Christian festivity and is seen in some other towns, such as the well-known May Day celebrations at Padstow, Cornwall, with dancing as well as the 'obby oss' (hobby horse). In its present form, prominent townsfolk dance through the town.

Singers of traditional ballads, and Morris dancers come out today. Five verses of a Robin Hood ballad [above] are traditionally sung, featuring Robin, Little John and some of the other Merrie Men and Maid Marian (a version of the Goddess of the Woodlands). 'Hal-an-Tow' is the second dance of the morning, re-enacting St George's battle with the dragon.

The traditional belief behind the origins of Furry Day is to be found in a local legend:

"A 'Fiery Dragon' (possibly a large meteorite) is reputed to have appeared over Helston many centuries ago and dropped a large stone on what is now known as the 'Angel Yard'. More than a century ago, this great stone was split up to be used for building; a portion was built into the outside wall of the Angel Hotel in Coinagehall Street. The inhabitants of Helston, after fully expecting the town to be destroyed, celebrated their deliverance by dancing through each others' houses."
Source

In the dim past, there were other ceremonies on Furry Day, but only the dance now survives.

"It is said that the Devil threw a stone at St. Michael that missed the saint and landed in the town, and can be seen protruding from the wall of the Angel Inn, which was built around it. The celebration is therefore to welcome the summer and for the deliverance of St Michael."   Source

 

A curious cultural accident (regarding the tune played on Furry Day)    Obby oss    More on the obby oss    And more

List of Roman festivals and notable days in Wilson's Almanac Book of Days

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World Red Cross Red Crescent Day In 1922, just after World War I, there was a general yearning for peace. In the Czech Republic and Slovakia – then one State, Czechoslovakia – the National Society proclaimed a three-day truce at Easter to promote peace. An eminent government leader of the time summed up the underlying aspirations of that initiative as follows: "Our Red Cross wants to prevent disease so that it will not be obliged to give care; it also wants to encourage our society to prevent wars rather than having to bear the serious consequences involved. We all know the importance of the moral potential it brings into being and extends to all sections of the community. If its annual action could take hold in the whole world, this would certainly be a major contribution to peace". This was an intimation of what was to become World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day. This initiative, known as the "Red Cross Truce", had a big impact on the public, but met with some scepticism among National Society leaders. As a result the 14th International Conference of the Red Cross set up an International Commission to study the Red Cross Truce. Its report, presented to the 15th International Conference in Tokyo in 1934, stated that it approved the principle of the Truce and considered it advisable that its application be made more general, from the point of view of methodology, taking into account the psychology characteristic of different regions. It was only after World War II, in 1946, that the Tokyo proposal was put into effect. During the XIVth Session of the Board of Governors of the League of Red Cross Societies, later called the General Assembly of the International Federation of Red Cross Societies, the League was requested to study the possibility of adopting an international Red Cross Day, to be celebrated on the same date by all National Societies. Two years later, following approval by the Federation's Executive Committee, Red Cross Day was celebrated for the first time throughout the world on 8 May 1948, the anniversary of the birth of Henry Dunant, the founder of the Red Cross. It subsequently changed names several times and in 1984 became 'World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day'. Taken verbatim from the source International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies "In 2003, ICRC delegates visited nearly half a million detainees held in more than 1,900 places of detention in 80 countries; the ICRC collected and distributed almost 1.3 million Red Cross Messages, thus renewing or maintaining links between families separated by conflict; it provided direct assistance to over 1.2 million people, and helped to provide safe water and health services to millions of others; worldwide it continued to promote knowledge and understanding of international humanitarian law, especially among fighters."   Source   Feast of the Apparition of St Michael the Archangel One of St Michael's several appearances on Monte Gargano, near Manfredonia in southern Italy in the 6th Century is celebrated today. This Christian saint, Prince of All Angels, is an archangel who was the leader of the army of God during the Lucifer uprising, casting Satan out of Paradise. He is one of only two angels named in the Bible, the other being Gabriel. He is associated with the planet Mercury. Muslims, Christians and Jews all express devotion to him, and there are writings about him in all three religions. Considered the guardian angel of Israel, Michael's name means in Hebrew, 'Who is like God?'. When the archangel appeared to the Bishop of Siponto, Michael requested that a church be built in his honour at the place. St Romuald once assigned emperor Otho III the penance of a barefoot pilgrimage to Monte Sant'Angelo sul Gargano (Saint Michael's Church on Mount Gargano). The Archangel indicated the transformation into a Christian church of a Mithraeum (a grotto sacred to Mithras), on Monte Tumba. Miraculously, when the bishop and companions arrived, a purple cloth was already laid as for an altar, and the archangel's footprint was preserved in the rock. Or, so it is said. The Lombards of Sipontum attributed their victory (May 8, 663) over the Greeks loyal to the Byzantine emperor, to an apparition of Michael atop the mountain with a flaming sword, so May 8 was chosen as a feast day. In heraldry, Michael's ensign is a banner hanging on a cross, armed as Victory, with a dart in one hand and a cross on his forehead, with the saint also weighing souls in scales. His main feast day is September 29 and is known in the English tradition as Michaelmas, a day rich in ancient folklore.   Cheese-rolling: The Randwick Wap Saturday after first Sunday in May, Randwick Wap, Randwick, Gloucestershire, UK Wap Queen Sara Watkins hurls the first of the  three cheeses into the churchyard Picture courtesy of Stroud News & Journal Last Sunday, as we saw,  the cheeses were blessed in a unique ceremony; today they are rolled. "An ancient procession and festival dating from the Middle Ages. The procession is lead by the Mop Man who swishes his mop to clear the crowds. The Mayor and Queen are carried shoulder high and flanked by flag boys, cheese bearers and others. The mayor is dunked in the Mayor's Pool and then doused in spring water. The procession then moves on to Well Leaze where two double Gloucester cheeses are rolled down the hill. The festival follows with music, dancing, stalls and entertainments."   Source "This event is a colourful procession of costumed villages led by the Mop Man who wields a wet mop to clear crowds, from the War Memorial to the Mayor's Pool. The Mayor and Queen are held shoulder high, but this dubious honour culminates in a dunking in the pond for the Mayor who is then washed with spring water. The event finishes with cheese rolling at Well Leaze. "HOW DID IT START - There is a tradition claiming it originated 700 years ago when the church was built. The story goes that one of the workmen so enjoyed a liquid supper that his colleagues refreshed him with a visit to the pool. More serious versions link it to priestcraft; or to a Saxon word 'Wappenshaw', when the men gathered to show they were ready for battle."   Source "Torch bearing peasants and villagers would wind their way up paths to the top of tall hills or mountain crags and then ignite wooden wheels which they would roll down into the fields as an offering to the gods in the hope of a good crop in the ensuing summer. "This tradition is echoed in the Gloucestershire tradition of cheeserolling races that still take place in May at Cooper's Hill near Gloucester and the cheeserolling at Randwick Wap near Stroud."   Source: BBC "Randwick continues on the bizarre side of things during the following Saturday, with what is called the 'Randwick Wap'. The highlight of the day is the procession or fracas, which involves hundreds of costumed townsfolk and musicians winding their way throughout the town to the 'Mayor's Pool'. The procession is lead by the 'Top Man' who waves a wet mop in the faces of anyone in the way. Carried shoulder high above above the procession are the local Mayor and the elected Festival Queen, who are escorted along by an entourage of flag boys, a Princess, a sword bearer a main flag man and a host of 'cheese bearers'. When to pond is reached the Mayor is the unceremoniously dunked. As you may expect, after the procession the partying starts and continues in to the early hours."   Source   Saturday nearest to May 9, Punch's Birthday, St Paul's Church in Covent Garden, London, UK "On the Saturday nearest to 9th May a strange celebration can be seen in and around St Paul's Church in Covent Garden, London. A small wooden puppet dressed in red takes over the pulpit and preaches to a church full of other puppets together with strangely dressed puppeteers. Punch and Judy Professors (professor being the name given to the puppeteers) gather from all over Britain and indeed farther afield to celebrate Punch's arrival in this country."   Source Feast of Eoioi, Egypt Feast day of St Acacius Feast day of St Benedict II, Pope, confessor More Feast day of St Boniface IV Feast day of St Desideratus of Soissons Feast day of St Gibrian (Gybrian) , of Ireland Feast day of St Helladius of Auxerre Feast day of St Ida of Nivelles Feast day of St John the Apostle (Greek Orthodox) Feast day of St Julian of Norwich (Anglican) She is commemorated by the Anglican Church on May 8 and by the Roman Catholic Church on May 13. Feast day of St Maria Magdalen of Canossa Feast day of the Apparition of St Michael the Archangel Feast day of St Arsenius the Great in the Eastern Orthodox Church Feast day of St Odrian, of Waterford, Ireland Feast day of St Peter of Tarentaise Feast day of St Selena (Lily of the Valley, Convallaria majalis, is today's plant, dedicated to this saint.) Feast day of St Victor Maurus (Victor the Moor) More Feast day of St Wiro, of Ireland Click for Eastern Orthodox liturgical days    Shop saints Stork Day, Denmark Source: The Phoenix and Arabeth 1992 Calendar VE Day (Victory in Europe) Summer's beginning, Han Dynasty, China (206 BCE - 220 CE) In ancient China, they started the seasons differently from just about any other culture. The seasonal beginnings correspond with the Western cross-quarter days (sabbats' in the Neopagan tradition). Summer's beginning was about midway between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice. Misasa Hanayu Matsuri, or Flower Spa festival, at Misasa (Spa), Tottori Prefecture, Japan Misasa is one of the best of Japan's celebrated healing hot springs. Misasa Hanayu Matsuri is a festival to Yakushi, god of medicine. Some of the events: a flower market; tug of war; float procession; geisha parade; lantern parade; fireworks display. Hinode Matsuri, Ōme (Mitake Shrine), Tokyo, Japan A sunrise festival. Truman Day, Missouri, USA Ake Name Day, Sweden Jerusalem Day, Israel       On which day of the week were you born? Find out here 1521 Petrus Canisius (d. 1597), Jesuit  1753 Miguel Hidalgo (d. July 30, 1811), also known as Cura Hidalgo ('Priest Hidalgo'), Mexican priest and revolutionary rebel leader regarded as the founder of the Mexican War of Independence movement 1828 Henry Dunant (Jean Henri Dunant; d. 1910), founder of the Red Cross and recipient of the Nobel Prize in peace 1901 "The eight years from 1867 to 1875 proved to be a sharp contrast to those of 1859-1867. In 1867 Dunant was bankrupt ... "For the next twenty years, from 1875 to 1895, Dunant disappeared into solitude. After brief stays in various places, he settled down in Heiden, a small Swiss village. Here a village teacher named Wilhelm Sonderegger found him in 1890 and informed the world that Dunant was alive, but the world took little note. Because he was ill, Dunant was moved in 1892 to the hospice at Heiden. And here, in Room 12, he spent the remaining eighteen years of his life." Source: Nobel e-Museum More 1842 Emil Christian Hansen (d. 1909), fermentation physiologist 1884 Harry S Truman (d. 1972), 33rd President of the United States of America 1892 Ezio Pinza (d. 1957), opera singer 1895 Fulton J Sheen (d. 1979), American bishop, television personality 1895 Edmund Wilson, American literary critic 1903 Fernandel (d. 1971), actor 1905 Red Nichols (d. 1965), jazz musician 1906 Roberto Rossellini (d. 1977), film director 1911 Robert Johnson (d. 1938), blues singer and guitarist 1914 Romain Gary (d. 1980), writer 1919 Lex Barker (d. 1973), actor 1926 David Attenborough, OM, CH, CVO, CBE, FRS, British presenter of TV nature documentaries 1926 Don Rickles, American comedian   1930 Gary Snyder, American poet, essayist, lecturer, and environmental activist. Snyder is the winner of a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. As a poet, he has often been associated with the Beat Generation and the San Francisco Renaissance. Since the 1970s, he has frequently been described as the 'laureate of Deep Ecology'. He was the main character ('Japhy Ryder') in Jack Kerouac's The Dharma Bums. Snyder met Allen Ginsberg when the latter sought Snyder out on the recommendation of Kenneth Rexroth. Lawrence Ferlinghetti later referred to Snyder as 'the Thoreau of the Beat Generation'. Snyder read his poem 'A Berry Feast' at 1955's famous poetry reading at the Six Gallery in San Francisco.   'Riprap' By Gary Snyder Lay down these words Before your mind like rocks.               placed solid, by hands In choice of place, set Before the body of the mind               in space and time: Solidity of bark, leaf, or wall               riprap of things: Cobble of milky way.               straying planets, These poems, people,               lost ponies with Dragging saddles –               and rocky sure-foot trails. The worlds like an endless               four-dimensional Game of Go.               ants and pebbles In the thin loam, each rock a word               a creek-washed stone Granite: ingrained               with torment of fire and weight Crystal and sediment linked hot               all change, in thoughts, As well as things.