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If a young woman and man paired by sundown, their courtship continued so that the couple could get to know each other and, possibly, marry 6 weeks later on June’s Midsummer’s Day. This is how the “June wedding” became a tradition. Ancient Celts danced around the tree, praying for good crops and fertility. For younger people, there was the possibility of courtship. Originally, the Maypole was a living tree chosen from the woods with much merrymaking.This one is easy to remember: May Day occurs annually on May 1! See which day of the week May Day falls in coming years: What Day Is May Day? Yearĭid you ever dance around the Maypole as a child? Wrapping a Maypole with colorful ribbons is a joyous tradition that still exists in some schools and communities. Such rites originally may have been intended to ensure fertility for crops and, by extension, for livestock and humans, but in most cases this significance was gradually lost, so that the practices survived largely as popular festivities. People would “bring in the May” by gathering wildflowers and green branches, weaving of floral hoops and hair garlands, and crowning a May king and queen. Children would dance around the Maypole holding onto colorful ribbons. May Day has a long history and tradition in England, some of which eventually came to America. Beltane means “Day of Fire.” People created large bonfires and danced at night to celebrate. Cattle were driven to pasture, special bonfires were lit, and doors of houses as well as livestock were decorated with yellow May flowers. In the Middle Ages, the Gaelic people celebrated the festival of Beltane. Springtime festivities filled with song and dance celebrated the sown fields starting to sprout. Did you know that May Day has its roots in astronomy? It’s the halfway point between the spring equinox and the summer solstice! In ancient times, this was one of the Celtic cross-quarter days which mark the midway points between the (four) solstices and equinoxes of the year.Īs with many early holidays, May Day was rooted in agriculture.