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Joined: 12/15/2011
Posts: 18061
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It's May Day. Does anyone remember dancing around a May Pole in childhood? I remember doing that in the very young grades, about kindergarten and first grade, in NYC in the mid 1950s.
Iris
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Joined: 6/4/2017
Posts: 2012
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Yes. Same time, but in SW Missouri. Colored ribbons were tied to the top of the pole, and we wove them around the pole as we danced.
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Joined: 2/16/2017
Posts: 1709
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Yes, the same time in Sacramento, Calif. One of our closed restaurants in town today put one up with the ribbons already woven around the pole and a basket of flowers at the bottom of the pole.
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Joined: 11/30/2011
Posts: 4324
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This was before my time.
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Joined: 3/25/2015
Posts: 1035
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We made May baskets which contained candy, and often popcorn and violets. We placed them on a doorstep, rang the doorbell, and ran. The recipient was supposed to run after us and kiss us!
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Joined: 12/4/2011
Posts: 20920
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Irish May Day;
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Beltane
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Joined: 1/28/2013
Posts: 2659
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LOL I was going to joke that I'm so old I remember celebrating Beltane. It sounds a lot more fun than dancing around a pole.
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Joined: 10/24/2018
Posts: 1527
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Oh Iris, thank you for that memory! The grade school I went to had a "kindergarten graduation" type affair which probably was held on May 1. Pretty little pastel organdy ankle-length dresses that the moms passed a pattern around for, boys in all white, a May Queen (I guess) who I think was a first grader, with court (organdy dresses, remember), processing around the perimeter of what we knew as the playground (actually the church parking lot!) to a march from Aida on a record player (you may imagine my feelings the first time I sat in the orchestra pit for that opera!!), and the Maypole, which was not only wound up by skipping children, but unwound too. I was so mad I didn't get chosen for that, I sat there fuming in the sun and critiqued every mis-step on the weaving that was going to cause the unweaving to be an utter mess! And I remember that music too-- I think the piano lady made it up.
Thank you for this lovely memory, and the earworm of that Maypole music. I'll come sing it to you if you like!
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Joined: 12/15/2011
Posts: 18061
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"Here we go 'round the Maypole, the Maypole, the Maypole..."
That's all the earworm that I recall, zauberflote.
Iris
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Joined: 12/4/2011
Posts: 20920
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earworm??????
what a vision, organdy, church parking lot and Aida!
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Joined: 10/24/2018
Posts: 1527
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Iris, your memory is probably more reliable than mine on that May Day song. I am sure we must have sung, but all I remember is the tape of Mrs Lynch playing that same 16 measures of music over and over and over and over. She's have to play it live when we practised indoors! That poor woman.
Jfkoc, you sent me on a merry whirl through linguistics onWikipedia just making sure I was correct when I told you "earworm" is of German origin. It's the song that gets stuck in your head and you can't shut it up.
Iris, was your Maypole a performance, or something you did for fun? We also wove little paper baskets to put flowers in. There is a wonderful chapter in Little Women (or maybe Little Men) involving May baskets....
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Joined: 12/15/2011
Posts: 18061
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Zauberflote, dancing around the Maypole was something that we children did as a class activity in school. I don't remember much about those early years. In the next month, June 14th is Flag Day and also Brooklyn Day. We children were in a parade and we had to recite a poem about Brooklyn. I don't think they do that anymore.
Iris
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Joined: 12/4/2011
Posts: 20920
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In addition to getting support and "technical" information here I find I am learning a lot of things like vocabulary!
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Joined: 12/4/2011
Posts: 20920
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Brooklyn poem. Had to look that up. Seems there is more than one...lol.
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