The Music of May Day!

May Day Music

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]To read this post in Spanish, click here![/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Happy Spring, Kindermusik lovers! Yesterday was May 1st, which is historically celebrated as a springtime festival in many countries, with singing, dancing, games, and much more. Sometime in the 19th century, May Day also became a celebration of the worker, a sort of mid-year version of Labor Day. Today, we’ll explore some of the traditions of this day, and the music associated with it. Get your May Poles ready![/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]

Flora

The springtime festival finds its roots in Floralia, an ancient Roman celebration of Flora, the goddess of flowers. Her image was associated with renewal and fertility. Games occurred in her honor and the various and colorful entertainments even included, according to the Roman poet Ovid, a tightrope walking elephant!

May Day
The Roman goddess Flora, by the famed painter Botticelli – the same artist who painted the Birth of Venus

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The May Pole

One of the longest standing traditions of May Day is the May Pole and May Pole dancing. If you are interested in learning how to dance around the May Pole, check out this link. Here’s the basic premise: a large pole, usually located in the center of town or in a park, around which people dance and sing, often wrapping colorful ribbons around the pole. The music associated is pure folk and represents the culture from which it arose. In the UK, Come Lassies and Lads calls all to the May Pole for an energetic, day-long dance.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Here is a video from Glastonbury, England, showing the May Pole Dance, complete with drumming and jingling bells.[/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxcIqMmlVOs”][vc_column_text]

Spain and Los Mayos

While Labor Day is also celebrated at the beginning of May, Spain, and many Hispanic America countries celebrate springtime festivals at this time as well, complete with music, dancing, and parades. In Spain, young boys would climb up the Maypole to retrieve a flag while girls would dance below.

Different “Mays” are sung to different people, from the Virgin Mary to girls of the town or village. The music is always celebratory and welcoming of warm springtime weather. Here, we see the traditional Maypole, and women, dressed in traditional attire, dancing in the streets during Los Mayos in Madrid, Spain.

 

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Hawai’i and Lei Day

In the early part of the 20th century, Hawai’i began a tradition on the first of May called Lei Day. The islands have their own representative flowers, displaying the uniqueness of each. Lei Day has become a celebration of Hawa’ian culture mixed with traditionally American/European elements, and culture is so often defined by music, dance and food! The festival includes singing and hula dancing, with flowers everywhere! The Romans might think it was Floralia…

And don’t forget the lei itself, Hawai’i’s unspoken symbol of welcome and affection. Here is a classic recording of King Bennie Nawahi singing the traditional song of the day, May Day is Lei Day in Hawai’i.
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[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]So get out today and smell the flowers, sing a song, and dance around a tree! Better yet, find a Kindermusik class and dance and sing with your young ones. Celebrate the day![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][class_finder_form css=”.vc_custom_1462192779194{padding-top: 20px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;}”][/vc_column][/vc_row]