Come oh come ye tea-thirsty restless ones -- the kettle boils, bubbles and sings, musically. ~ Rabindranath Tagore
Good evening, Kibitzers! This Friday, May 1, will be May Day, a traditional celebration of the northern hemisphere onset of warm weather, the growing season, and fertility in general. (It's associated with the traditional Gaelic festival, Beltane, which is also marked by modern Wiccans and some other Pagans).
Among the many May Day traditions whose origins are murky is that of the Maypole.
In Britain and Ireland, the maypole was found primarily in England and in areas of Wales, Scotland and Ireland which were under English influence. However, the earliest recorded evidence comes from a Welsh poem written by Gryffydd ap Adda ap Dafydd in the mid-14th century, in which he described how people used a tall birch pole at Llanidloes, central Wales. Literary evidence for maypole use across much of Britain increases in later decades, and "by the period 1350-1400 the custom was well established across southern Britain, in town and country and in both Welsh-speaking and English-speaking areas.
photos: Simon Garbutt
What they're describing was a decorated pole (
in Ireland, sometimes a small decorated tree called a "May bush") that was erected as part of a community celebration. There was often dancing, particularly Morris dancing, at the site of the pole. All of this was too much fun for early Protestants, I'm sorry to say, and so Maypoles were banned under
the Commonwealth.
Unsurprisingly, they went right back up in 1660 when the monarchy was restored. The old ladder at right is in St. James' Church in the village of Castle Bytham, Lincolnshire. The carved inscription reads, "THIS WARE THE MAY POUL 1660"; apparently it ware later recycled.
Follow below the orange ribbon for more about the ribbon-weaving dance.
The iconic Maypole dance, with the ribbon-trailing pole at its center, seems to have been a 19th-century "Merrie England" romanticization. It's undeniably fun, however, so really, sometimes strict historical accuracy must take a back seat to nice weather and bright-colored ribbons.
There exist trained groups of dancers who do more complicated "weaves", but the simplest one in the Victorian tradition goes like this: there are an even number of dancers, each holding a ribbon. Alternating dancers face clockwise and counter-clockwise. They proceed around the pole, to music, and encounter dancers coming the opposite way. They pass first to one side, then to the other. Here: this diagram does an excellent job of explaining.
These kids have the idea. I have not seen anyone run it backwards and undo the plait before, but maybe they needed the pole for something else. ;)
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Kitchen Table Kibitzing is a community series for those who wish to share part of the evening around a virtual kitchen table with kossacks who are caring and supportive of one another. So bring your stories, jokes, photos, funny pics, music, and interesting videos, as well as links—including quotations—to diaries, news stories, and books that you think this community would appreciate. Readers may notice that most who post diaries and comments in this series already know one another to some degree, but newcomers should not feel excluded. We welcome guests at our kitchen table, and hope to make some new friends as well.
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