Regretfully, I missed our local annual May Day celebration this year. It happens on May 1st at dawn. The Morris dancers, the Pagans, and other people who are in the know all converge at the end of Picnic Point to ... um, er ... erect a Maypole, dance, sing, leap over a bonfire and other fertility rites, and welcome summer. I love going to it, but it's so darned difficult to get up even earlier than usual, drive across town, then drive across town again to get to work by 7:30 a.m. (not to mention having to explain why I smell like a campfire!)
May is my favorite month, and May Day is one of my favorite holidays of the year. So I bring you The Watersons singing Hal-an-Tow:
And here is the genuine article, filmed in May 2008, in Helston, Cornwall. Someday I'm going to go there.
If British folk traditions are your cup of tea (ha ha, cultural reference intended) you should most definitely read the book In Search of Albion by Colin Irwin.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Fun!
I love it! Nothing pleases me more than a Midsomer Murder dvd that includes some reference to and portrayal of British folk customs. The ones that show some kind of local festival? Love them!
Happy month of May, Suzy.
Post a Comment