Hello everyone!
Here is a video to help you making your lovely maypole for your nature table.
A May Day celebration was held by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. It is believed that the celebrations originated in agricultural rituals intended to ensure fertility for crops.
In later days it develop into the Celtic festival of Beltane “ the return of the sun”, It was a time to rejoice in the return of the land’s fertility and it was also the time when livestock would be out to pasture.
Today, many customs still mark this ancient festival, including the gathering of wildflowers and the setting up of a decorated May tree or Maypole, around which people dance.
No one can say for certain how Maypoles came to be, but they may have been inspired by Norse beliefs in the world tree, Yggdrasil, or Germanic pagan reverence for trees. The practice became especially popular in the British Isles around 1350-1400 AD. The wreath of flowers goes back to Spring goddess symbols.
At school our Spring Festival is celebrated as an entire school community. Out kindergarten “ Little Maypole” is decorated with coloured ribbons and the children dance around singing our maypole songs that will stay with us till the summer and sometimes till the winter term. Parents, children and teachers come together to celebrate the longer days, the flowers and our community,
This year, sadly, our spring festival will be a more personal affair. We won’t be together physically but at home we can all celebrate the return of the sun and the bounty of spring. At a time like this it is even more important to celebrate the people around us, so have fun at home with your children, celebrate their very first community, their family, and when you go out, celebrate the nourishment that being out In Nature brings.