“We’ve been rambling all this night
And some part of the day,
And now returning back again
We have brought you a branch of May”
Traditional May Day Carol
Today is the 1st of May. Or May Day. A festival rich with traditions and celebrations stretching back to the Roman festival of Floralia. 1 May is also the date of the Gaelic festival of Beltane marking the transition from winter to summer. Ancient traditions linked to these festivities included building special bonfires and decorating houses and livestock with bright spring flowers.
Many of these customs were gradually incorporated into May Day celebrations in the UK from the Middle Ages. Including May birching where villagers would leave budding branches outside neighbour’s houses. Each branch had its own meaning, and it wasn’t always positive. While pear meant you were fair, a briar meant someone thought you were a liar!
Collecting May dew was another ancient custom where women and girls would go out before sunrise on 1 May to wash their faces in the May dew. This was said to bring luck and remove blemishes from the skin. This custom even gets a mention in Samuel Pepys diary in 1669, when he complains of being wakened by his wife and his maids as they rose early to collect May dew.
Today, lots of villages and towns throughout the UK still celebrate May Day and Beltane with bonfires, maypole dancing and local village festivals. Testament to how enduring the idea of new life and renewal is as we look ahead to the return of summer. We love the mix of the old and modern that May Day represents – traditions and a sense of excitement that people have been celebrating for millennia! We also love the changing sights and sounds in the countryside as hawthorn, cowparsley and wild garlic bring a burst of green and white to hedgerows, fields and verges.
If you’d like to explore to immerse yourself in the countryside of South West England this summer, there’s still plenty of time to book a custom-made Foot Trails walking adventure, simply visit our Cotswolds trip page or send us an email at enquire@foottrails.co.uk.
