Maypole Day

 May 1st. May Day. Maypole Day. Rebirth. New beginnings. Spring.

I have a vivid memory of (when I was very young) celebrating Maypole Day at a local high school where one of my aunts served on the May Day Queen Court. Given the timeframe, I would have been under the age of five. That's a pretty powerful memory. 

As little girls do sometimes, I thought my aunt looked like a fairy princess. As required then, she wore a long, formal ball gown with evening gloves. My memory wants me to recall that the dress was pale yellow for some reason, but the history and customs of the Maypole Court and Dance indicate it was likely white. Either way, I thought her to be so beautiful. Even though she was not crowned May Day Queen (or May Queen) that day, watching the festivities surrounding the custom and the coordinated dancing around the Maypole held a strong enough fascination for me. I recall it decades later every May 1st. And for a few years in elementary school, I took part in Maypole Dancing, too, until the practice was nothing more than a memory. 

It is likely that my aunt is somewhere in one of the two photographs here. Same timeframe, same location. And somewhere in the crowd, I sat with my grandmother watching the pageantry of it all with wonder. 

 

Also, regarding my last post on Cedar Waxwings, I found a photograph of one of the crabapple trees in my front yard in full bloom. There were three of these trees in my yard at the time; the smallest one was in the back that I referenced in that blog post. As always, thanks for reading what I post here.