watervole | (no subject)

I'm fascinated by folk traditions of all kinds. One of these is maypoles. They were an old custom in both Britain and other European countries, but the way in which they survive (where they survive at all) varies.

This photo by

selenak is from Osnabrück in Germany.

I might not have recognised it as a maypole, if

vjezkova hadn't posted a picture last year or the year before (which I can't now find on her LJ, so Vera, I'd love it if you'd post a link in the comments) while talking about her local customs.

Vera's photo was of a maypole with the branches left at the top, just like this one. (you never see that on a modern English maypole, as they're kept in storage from one year to the next and never cut fresh). However, I don't think hers had a hoop on it. (I can see a possible link from suspended hoops of that kind to the English tradition of maypole dancing with ribbons - many modern maypoles have a top that freely rotates and has the long dancing ribbons hanging from it.)

See here for my previous posting about maypoles.

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This reminds me: thank you for the comment at photobucket; I was busy with the conference, hence didn't reply yet. The odd thing is, I half wonder whether this maypole wasn't adopted from the British, since Osnabrück is definitely in the former British zone! I didn't have the opportunity to ask.

We might have had a maypole very like that a few centuries ago, but not in modern times. A combination of factors caused them to disappear apart from in the tradition of children dancing round with ribbons.

Cutting a new one every year and leaving the branches on makes me wonder if the maypole and the Christmas tree are connected.

Interesting thought. My suspicion is that there's no direct link, other than that of trees being close to hand and making good decorations. (the 'pagan theory of everything' school of folklore has been losing strength these days)

I have posted my old pictures in my new entry...

Maypoles are going to be all over the place here in three and a half weeks.

I'd love it if you'd take some photos.

Why end of June for maypoles?

I usually do my best to stay away from the places where they are, since those places will be full of noisy people, but I'll see if I can go take a picture this year. The by far most common shape is a large cross with rings hanging from the ends of the crossbar, all of it covered in green stuff and flowers. The fertility imagery is not all that subtle... I have occasionally seen the kind of pole as in the picture above.

Traditionally, it was for midsummer solstice. This has been a major holiday in Sweden for at least 800 years (going by written sources, 2000 if you want to believe speculation based on stone carvings). A couple of decades ago or thereabouts, the official holiday was defined to be the closest Friday after the actual solstice. Which this year is on the 25th. If you come to Sweden on that day, you will find the entire country practically shut down. It's pretty certain that this is the same celebration as Beltane down your way, only moved later for climate reasons (I can remember several years when it snowed on May 1st).

Thanks, I'd love to see some pictures.

I guess midsummer does make more sense than May 1st when there's a risk of snow on your day celebrating summer!

Did you see my article about maypoles and other such things:

http://pagan-wiccan-practice.suite101.com/article.cfm/pagan-fertility-rituals-and-rites

The picture is of a maypole in Sweden.

Hmm. I'd have to say that some of your article is of rather sketchy accuracy...

eg. The bells on the morris dancers do not have (and never had) any connection with driving off evil spirits. Nor do the clashing sticks represent the fight between 'good' and 'evil'.

It's a bit more complicated than that.

I'll try and write about the probable origins of the bells sometime, though it's hard to be precise. (Though some things can reasonably be ruled out)

The Wiccan connections of morris are relatively modern - though I think it's a very good association.