( ' first day of May') or ( 'first day of Summer'), also historically called , is the Welsh celebration of

May Day May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the Northern Hemisphere's March equinox, spring equinox and midsummer June solstice, solstice. Festivities ma ...

(1 May). It marks the beginning of summer and traditionally it involved festivities around

bonfire A bonfire is a large and controlled outdoor fire, used for waste disposal or as part of a religious feast, such as Saint John's Eve. Etymology The earliest attestations date to the late 15th century, with the Catholicon Anglicum spelling i ...

maypole A maypole is a tall wooden pole erected as a part of various European List of folk festivals, folk festivals, around which a maypole dance often takes place. The festivals may occur on May Day, 1 May or Pentecost (Whitsun), although in some co ...

s, and carol singing. Some of its traditions parallel the Gaelic May Day festival

Beltane Beltane () or ''Bealtaine'' () is the Gaels, Gaelic May Day festival, marking the beginning of summer. It is traditionally held on 1 May, or about midway between the March equinox, spring equinox and summer solstice. Historically, it was widely ...

, and other May Day and

Walpurgis Night Walpurgis Night (), an abbreviation of Saint Walpurgis Night (from the German language, German ), also known as Saint Walpurga's Eve (alternatively spelled Saint Walburga's Eve) and Walpurgisnacht, is the Vigil#Eves of religious celebrations ...

traditions in Europe.

Customs

Traditionally,

s () were lit at in parts of Wales. They were lit in

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

until the 1830s. Nine men would gather branches of nine different trees, remove all metal, then light the fire by friction between wood. A fire kindled in such a way is known as a need-fire. Sometimes two fires were built side-by-side. Round cakes of

oatmeal Oatmeal is a preparation of oats that have been dehusked, steamed, and flattened, or a coarse flour of hulled oat grains ( groats) that have either been milled (ground), rolled, or steel-cut. Ground oats are also called white oats. Steel- ...

and brown-meal were sliced and placed in a bag, and participants each chose one; those who chose a brown-meal slice had to leap three times over flames, or run thrice between the bonfires. This was believed to ensure a good

harvest Harvesting is the process of collecting plants, animals, or fish (as well as fungi) as food, especially the process of gathering mature crops, and "the harvest" also refers to the collected crops. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulses fo ...

. bonfires were also recorded in

Montgomeryshire Montgomeryshire ( ) was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was named after its county town, Montgomery, Powys, Montgomery, which in turn was named after ...

. The

Scottish Highlands The Highlands (; , ) is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Scottish Lowlands, Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Scots language, Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gae ...

had very similar May Day (

) bonfire customs, and historian Ronald Hutton suggests they were all survivals of a tradition that was once more widespread.

Maypole A maypole is a tall wooden pole erected as a part of various European List of folk festivals, folk festivals, around which a maypole dance often takes place. The festivals may occur on May Day, 1 May or Pentecost (Whitsun), although in some co ...

s were traditionally set up for . In Britain, the maypole was found primarily in areas of English influence. However, the earliest account is from a Welsh poem by Gryffydd ap Adda ap Dafydd in the mid-14th century, in which he described people making festivities around a tall

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

pole at

Llanidloes Llanidloes () is a town and community on the A470 and B4518 roads in Powys, within the historic county boundaries of Montgomeryshire (), Wales. The population in 2011 was 2,929, of whom 15% could speak Welsh. It is the third largest settleme ...

in Montgomeryshire. Small groups of young men went about singing May carols () or summer carols () at , and were rewarded with food and drink. Other traditions: * May Eve () is considered an or 'spirit night', when spirits are wandering and

divination Divination () is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic ritual or practice. Using various methods throughout history, diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a should proceed by reading signs, ...

is possible. * On May Eve, villagers gather hawthorn (, 'white-thorn') branches and flowers which they would then use to decorate the outside of their houses, celebrating new growth and

fertility Fertility in colloquial terms refers the ability to have offspring. In demographic contexts, fertility refers to the actual production of offspring, rather than the physical capability to reproduce, which is termed fecundity. The fertility rate ...

. * In

Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...

and Caernarfonshire it would be common on May Eve to have 'playing straw man' or 'hanging a straw man'. A man who had lost his sweetheart to another man would make a man out of straw and put it somewhere in the vicinity of where the girl lived. The straw man represented her new sweetheart and had a note pinned to it. Often the situation led to a fight between the two men at the May Fair. * Being the time between Summer and Winter, would be the time to stage a mock fight between the two seasons. The man representing Winter carried a stick of blackthorn (, 'black-thorn') and a shield that had pieces of wool stuck on it to represent snow. The man representing Summer was decorated with garlands of flowers and ribbons and carried a

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

-wand which had spring flowers tied on it with ribbons. A mock battle took place in which the forces of Winter threw straw and dry underbrush at the forces of Summer who retaliated with

branches, willow () rods, and young ferns (). Eventually the forces of Summer would win and a May King and Queen were chosen and crowned, after which there was feasting, dancing, games and drinking until the next morning. * May Day was the time that the or 'tump for playing' (a kind of village green) was officially opened. Through the summer months in some villages the people would gather on the in the evenings to dance and play various sports. The green was usually situated on the top of a hill and a mound was made where the fiddler or harpist sat. Sometimes branches of oak decorated the mound and the people would dance in a circle around it. * Common drinks during Calan Mai festivities fermented honey (

mead Mead (), also called honey wine, and hydromel (particularly when low in alcohol content), is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey mixed with water, and sometimes with added ingredients such as fruits, spices, grains, or hops. The alco ...

) sometimes flavoured with herbs or spices (). Sometimes it was made of herbs, including woodruff, a sweet-smelling herb which was often put in wine in times past to make a man merry and act as a tonic for the heart and liver.

Elderberry ''Sambucus'' is a genus of between 20 and 30 species of flowering plants in the family Adoxaceae. The various species are commonly referred to as elder, with the flowers as elderflower, and the fruit as elderberry. Description Elders are most ...

and

rhubarb Rhubarb is the fleshy, edible stalks ( petioles) of species and hybrids (culinary rhubarb) of ''Rheum'' in the family Polygonaceae, which are cooked and used for food. The plant is a herbaceous perennial that grows from short, thick rhizomes. ...

wines were popular as well as various beers.

Customs

References

Further reading