{"id":666,"date":"2016-04-29T12:07:26","date_gmt":"2016-04-29T12:07:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staffblogs.le.ac.uk\/specialcollections\/?p=666"},"modified":"2025-02-26T13:22:04","modified_gmt":"2025-02-26T13:22:04","slug":"may-day-early-19th-century-traditions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staffblogs.le.ac.uk\/specialcollections\/2016\/04\/29\/may-day-early-19th-century-traditions\/","title":{"rendered":"May Day: Early 19th Century Traditions"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Laying May branches<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

Whilst many associate traditional celebrations of May Day with maypoles and Morris dancers, one early nineteenth century custom\u00a0featured ‘Mayers’ (those included in May Day celebrations) arising at dawn to place branches of May outside neighbouring dwellings.<\/p>\n

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Performed as a symbolic gesture, the larger the branch placed at the door, the greater honour attributed\u00a0to the house or to the servants of the house. If however, during the course of the year a servant had offended any of the Mayers then instead of a branch of May, a branch of elder with a bunch of nettles was fixed to their door: this was considered a great disgrace, and the unfortunate subject was \u2018exposed to the jeers of her rivals\u2019<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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The laying of May branches involved a large party of town\u2019s people, who would have paraded the town singing variations of the \u2018Mayer\u2019s Song\u2019 whilst adorning each house, much to the trepidation of the awaiting neighbour.<\/p>\n

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\"DSC_0073\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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Festivities<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

May Day festivities often included comical characters providing musical entertainment and joviality. In Hitchin, Hertfordshire,\u00a0the comedy duo known as \u2018Mad Moll and her husband<\/em>\u2019 accompanied a group of dancers in the May Day parade; Moll dressed in rags and her husband brandishing a birch broom. If the gathering crowd came too close to the dancers, Mad Moll\u2019s husband would sweep the road dust around the circle and into the faces of the crowd!<\/p>\n

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\"Mad<\/a><\/p>\n

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For more\u00a0British traditions and customs see:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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