May Day!

I wanted you all to go down memory lane with me. Today is a very important day in England and other countries. Where I went to school, they put up a big big pole and we the children walked and danced around the Maypole! I got to dance around the maypole a couple times as did my brother Chris. It took a lot of practice to make sure that the ribbon was braiding just right. It's so beautiful when it's done!! We also had a parade where a girl was chosen to be the queen and her attendants are chosen also. One year I got chosen to be an attendant. My mom made all of our dresses and we got to ride on top of a float. It was really an honor to be chosen as an attendant let alone the queen. Everyone dresses up for the parade, kind of like halloween. My Mom also made Teenage Mutan Nija Turtle costumes for Chris, Eric and a couple of other boys. They were great costumes. I just always remember this and wanted to share with all of you.
Here is some history I found on the internet to explain a little bit more about this day.

Celebrate Spring Everyone!!!

Bringing in the May
In medieval England, people would celebrate the start of spring by going out to the country or woods—"going a-maying"—and gathering greenery and flowers, or "bringing in the may." This was described in "The Court of Love" (often attributed to Chaucer, but not actually written by him) in 1561:
And furth goth all the Court, both most and lest,To feche the floures fressh, and braunche and blome;And namly, hawthorn brought both page and grome.With fressh garlandes, partie blewe and whyte,And thaim rejoysen in their greet delyt.



Another English tradition is the maypole. Some towns had permanent maypoles that would stay up all year; others put up a new one each May. In any event, the pole would be hung with greenery and ribbons, brightly painted, and otherwise decorated, and served as a central point for the festivities.



May Day was also a time for morris dancing and other dances, often around the maypole. In the 19th century, people began to braid the maypole with ribbons by weaving in and out in the course of a dance. Other later traditions include making garlands for children and the crowning of the May Queen.



Labor Day is still celebrated on May 1 in countries around the world, and it is still often a day for protests and rallies. In recent years, these have often been targeted against globalization.