Traditions, Superstitions and Folk-lore (Chiefly Lancashire and the North of England:) Their Affinity to Others in Widely-Distributed Localities; Their Eastern Origin and Mythical Significance.

CHAPTER V.

Chapter 5136 wordsPublic domain

MAY-DAY CEREMONIES AND SUPERSTITIONS.

Mock battle between summer and winter. The vernal equinox. Joy on the return of Spring. Bell-ringing and horn-blowing. Midnight gathering of wild flowers and green branches of trees. May-day garlands and decorations. Rush-bearing in Lancashire. Well dressing in Derbyshire. The Roman Floralia. May-poles denounced by the Puritans. King James I. at Hoghton Tower, Lancashire. Speech about "libertie to piping and honest recreation." Whitsun-ales and Morris dances. Washington Irving's first sight of a May-pole at Chester. Modern May-day ceremonies in Cheshire. Gathering hawthorn blossom. The _Mimosa catechu_, or sacred thorn of India, sprung from the lightning. The Glastonbury thorn. Singular superstition respecting it. Children's love of wild flowers. May-day dew good for ladies' complexions. May-day dew, the milk of the Aryan heavenly cows (clouds), believed to increase the milk of their earthly prototypes. Page 83