A maypole, a horse and a walking shrubbery - it's May Day in the UK
As spring finally begins to make itself felt in the UK, a number of celebrations are called into being. One of the earliest - after Easter - is May Day. While officially, May Day is the first day of May, the first Monday in May is taken for the May Day Bank Holiday. Britain is by no means unique in celebrating this day. May celebrations date back to Roman times, when Floralia celebrations were held in aid of Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers. Celts marked the festival of Beltane with singing, dancing and bonfires. In more recent times, the Catholic church has celebrated the Virgin Mary, Queen of May. In 1899, the International Social Congress chose 1 May as a day to honour workers, later marked by Communist Russia. The May Day celebrations that have taken place in the UK for hundreds of years, and are still practised today, are a mix of pagan and religious traditions. The Maypole is a key element: it symbolises male fertility, and is used for a dance in which participants weave in an...