This month, we celebrate May Day, a holiday which dates back to the pre-Christian Celts of western Europe. The Celtic May Day honored deities of the natural world with traditions that are still practiced today. I’m Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet, presented by the American Museum of Natural History.
Many May Day revelers celebrate the season by dancing around a wooden May pole. It’s an old Celtic custom which symbolizes Spring and the fertility of nature.
“You know, we forget about the fact that they believed in tree spirits. When you say knock on wood, that’s an old, old Celtic custom that says ‘tree spirit, come out and give me luck.’ And they very much believed in the power of these tree spirits and it was quite a ritual to the young men to go out and collect the tree and to bring it back and to decorate it. And they would have a very structured dance around the May pole.”
Verna Gates is a Special Instructor at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. She tells us that, just as we do do today, the ancient Celts would tie strips of cloth to the top of the May pole, weaving the fabric into braids as they danced.
“Weaving was a very important aspect of the May celebrations. You would weave the ribbons because you can take two strands of something and make another element out of it. And that’s what you were doing in fertility was taking two and making three. And so they would dance around the may pole and some said that that was a time of courtship. You didn’t marry in May, but you started the courtship in May and you married at Halloween.”
Pulse of the Planet is presented by the American Museum of Natural History. Additional funding for this series has been provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities. I’m Jim Metzner.