Guest blogger Rebecca Turgoose, @RebeccaLouise07, invites us to step back in time to enjoy an ancient celebration this Sunday in North Yorkshire.
People have always celebrated the changing of the seasons. This month sees the traditional celebration of the beginning of summer, also known as May Day – more than another date in the calendar; it is an event that is engrained in our history and culture.
In ancient times, the Pagan Festival of Beltane was celebrated in Scotland, Ireland and Isle of Man on the first day of May. In keeping with Gaelic traditions, people gathered on hilltops and danced around bonfires to welcome the new summer. The Beltane Fire Festival is still celebrated annually in Edinburgh today. The more contemporary May Day celebrations include marches and riots as part of International Worker’s Day. The anti-capitalist riot in 2000 reflects the values of the May Day festival since the Middle Ages. May Day was an opportunity for people to come together and enjoy themselves, regardless of their class. This community spirit is still present in Aldborough, North Yorkshire, where people will once again be gathering for their annual May Day celebration on Sunday 13th May 2012.
Aldborough is a quintessential English village, with a church, a pub, and beautiful surroundings dominated by a village green. The Maypole, which is formally a ship’s mast, is decorated with red and blue stripes and is permanently situated on the green. On Sunday 13th, twenty children will begin their parade through the village at 1.30pm. While the crowds look on, this year’s May Queen, Jess Freathy, will be crowned with a floral wreath. Then the Maypole dancing will begin. The younger girls, dressed in bright summer dresses, will dance around the Maypole in the inner circle, whilst the older girls dance in the outer circle. Together they will plait the ribbons around the pole, symbolising the union of man and woman. Aldborough have continued to keep the May Day tradition alive with original games, such as coconut shy and hook the duck. There will also be fairground rides, live local music and refreshments.
The children of Aldborough have been dancing around the Maypole for over half a century. However, it is possible that May Day was celebrated in the village 1800 years ago. Aldborough was once a major Roman settlement called Isurium Brigantum, a town that was more important than York at the time. At the beginning of May, Romans would celebrate the festival of Floralia in honour of Flora, the Goddess of flowers and youthful pleasures. The Roman’s celebrated May Day in a similar fashion to Aldborough today, with games, dancing, and flowers decorating the buildings and people’s hair. Roman coins are still being dug up today, and there are fascinating remains of Roman settlements surrounding the village.
Whether you’re interested in the history of May Day, the culture of a Yorkshire village, or if you’re searching for a special day out with the family, the Aldborough May Day celebration will be a treat – and when you see the children dancing around the Maypole, think of the Roman coins, and the village’s extraordinary history, right below their feet.
This year, the money raised at the event will go towards the Martin House Children’s Hospice.