25,000 people turn out at 6am (!) for Oxford's 'May Morning’. This is a video of the 2019 activities, filled with the Magdalen College Choir singing from the top of a tower, morris dancers, gypsy bands, and choreographed stick fights! In 2020, Magdalen Choir released a brilliant Virtual livestream.
We can still celebrate the changing of the seasons consciously, perhaps more so in lockdown than in the hustle and bustle of full-speed life. May Day is a cross-quarter day, the half way point between Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice, heralding the return of summer.
On May Morning, would you roll naked in the May morning dew grass like Queen Elizabeth I used to do with her handmaidens? If not, you can grab some of the last morning dew by laying towels or cloths on the grass and then ringing them out into a glass vial, for ever-youthful looks.
May Day is the day of many traditions, including the Maypole, which can be seen as the sun's rays returning to penetrate the Earth to create the union required for fertility. (Maybe like St George's and Michael's lance penetrating the dragon, who knows).
Countless folk songs mention walking through the countryside in May. Therefore...May is a brilliant time to do pilgrimage!
