May Day and Ancient Customs

It is the first Day of May. A day endowed with ancient customs, such as the fertility ritual of the May Pole Dance.

Although the revels were hijacked by the Communist governments and transformed into parades exhibiting military might, the older spring festival customs continued to linger. As a child growing up in downtown Chicago, we would decorate sheets of construction paper with colorful designs, roll them into a cone, affix a ribbon as a handle, fill them with wildflowers and a few candies, and hang the "may baskets" from the doorknobs of the neighbors. A gentle little bit of amusement and strangely dissonant with urban life, but that just demonstrates the resilience of the ancient Spring rites and rituals.