The History Of Maypole Dance

The History of Maypole Dance

The maypole dance comes to us from the Druids of the British Isles, with May Day---May 1---being the second-most-important holiday of their year, because it brought with it the Beltane festival and the observation of pagan fertility rites. May 1 was seen as the beginning of a new year, and fires were lit as part of the celebration.

Pagan

The maypole began as a pagan phallic symbol, and the dance that took place around it during the Beltane festival was part of the celebration of the Horned God, who was a symbol of fertility. In Roman times, it was part of the celebration of Maia, the goddess of May. Similar dances are held in other cultures, with Scandinavia having a maypole-type dance at midsummer.

Cutting

The maypole was cut in old Europe by youth who went into the woods and cut down a tree. They removed branches, leaving only a few at the top. They then wrapped it with violets and returned it to the village at daybreak. They blew horns and beat drums to let the rest of the village know May Day had arrived. The tree used as the maypole was typically anywhere from 12 to 60 feet tall.

Dance

The maypole dance was originally a circle dance and did not involve ribbons. Evolving over time, the dance became more and more complex. The maypole dance is now often done in figures so that dancers weave in and around one another, and their ribbons, which are attached to the top of the pole, form various patterns. By the 1930s, instruction books provided dancers with steps to create specific patterns with their ribbons, and these patterns had such names as "the Single Plait" and "the Spider's Web."

Middle Ages

Nearly every English village had a maypole by the Middle Ages. Adults and children went into the woods with songs and parades to cut the maypole and bring it back to the village. In small villages, the maypole was set up for the day's celebration, and in larger cities, such as London, the maypole remained throughout the year, ready for the next May Day dance.

Puritans

The Puritan Long Parliament stopped the maypole dance in 1666, and nearly 20 years passed---not until the Stuarts returned to power---before the maypole dance and the celebrating of May Day began again. Because of the strong Puritan influence in America, the May Day celebration was never as prominent a holiday in the U.S. as it was in Britain. However, some American children still perform the maypole dance, moving around the pole to weave colorful ribbons. They may also choose May Day queens and hang baskets on doors to carry on the old tradition.

Tags: maypole dance, part celebration, Beltane festival, Dance maypole, Dance maypole dance