In Britain, the celebration of spring has a very long history. The old Celtic festival of Beltane signaled the end of winter and the coming of summer. It was the time when the cattle were turned out to their summer grazing pastures. Later, when the Romans occupied Britain, they introduced their own May feast for the worship of Flora, the goddess of flowers, and Maia, the goddess of spring for whom the month of May is named. So, gradually, the rituals of the Roman floralia were blended into Celtic Beltane rituals as a May festival. The result was the celebration of May Day and the traditions that developed around it.

For instance, "Bringing in the May" meant going out into the woods and fields on May Eve, the night before May Day (May 1), to gather flowers and greenery for decorations and also to enjoy the many amorous possibilities of an unchaperoned night in the woods.

By the Middle Ages, every English village had its maypole. The earliest maypoles were tall trees stripped of their branches, and one village would vie with the next to produce the tallest one. On May Day itself, the maypole served as the centerpiece for sports, dancing and games that took place around it.

You have just read a snippet of a transcript of a presentation on the origins of May Day by Jennifer Cutting, a folklife specialist in the American Folklife Center. You can see and hear Cutting give her full presentation as a Webcast from the Library of Congress. After you listen to Cutting's fascinating talk, why not visit the Webcasts home page? There, you can find presentations to suit every taste and interest.