Thursday, May 01, 2008

May Day: ancient observances and traditions


Class of 2011
Originally uploaded by trudeau
The earliest May Day celebrations appeared in pre-Christian Europe, as in the Celtic celebration of Beltane, and the Walpurgis Night of the Germanic countries.

Many pre-Christian indigenous celebrations were eventually banned or Christianized during the process of Christianization in Europe.

May Day may be best known for its tradition of dancing the Maypole and crowning of the Queen of the May.

The day was a traditional summer holiday in many pre-Christian European pagan (means "country") cultures. While February 1 was the first day of Spring, May 1 was the first day of summer; hence, the summer solstice on June 25 (now June 21) was Midsummer, says Wikipedia.

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