May Bank Holiday weekend has always been, to me, a time of celebration and being thankful.
Traditionally on May Day, people would wake early, wash their faces with the dew on the grass and pick flowers to decorate their homes, thinking this would bring good fortune for the rest of the year.
In our family, we would all descend on Grandma and Grandad’s house, aunts, uncles, cousins etc. We would have a huge meal together, with Grandad claiming to have grown everything we ate, then walk en masse down into town to watch the parade, wave at the May Queen, laugh at the Green Man, then onto the fields to watch the maypole dancers and the Morris men. It was a wonderful weekend of celebration we looked forward to as children.
This week we have been Morris dancing in the woods with bells and handkerchiefs, a very amusing, if exhausting experience! There are many different types of May Day tradition still practised today in villages everywhere, if you fancy a bit of family entertainment.
Whatever you are doing this weeked, enjoy and be thankful for those around you.
Mrs Wilson