May 1
O Mary we crown thee with blossoms today,
Queen of the angels, Queen of the May.
O Mary we crown thee with blossoms today,
Queen of the angels, Queen of the May.
-Catholic song to the Virgin on May Day
Through hundreds of years, this day was celebrated by the ancient Celts as the feast of Beltane, the renewal of earth’s reproductive energy in springtime. Revelers danced around trees that represented the phallic energy of the season, and everywhere lovers enjoyed dalliances to encourage and participate in the earth’s renewal.
With the coming of Christianity, the old festival was discouraged, especially in light of its highly sexual content. In its place, the church offered a chaste processional to honor the virgin mother of god, with girls singing songs like that above.
But the ancient symbolism held fast, though hidden: the virgin was crowned with wreaths of flowers, the sexual organs of plants. Thus, even when the outer meaning changed, the inner meaning of the season remained a celebration of nature’s fertility and fecundity.
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