Celebrating month of floral splendour

These range from maypole dancing to lie-telling contests, not to mention dockpudding-making competitions and the election of May queens.

Over the centuries, May 1 has been given lots of different names including May Day, May Gosling Day, Birch Twig Day, Robin Hood’s Day, Yellowhammer Day, Cattle Anointing Day and Dock Pudding Day. Each of these was honoured with a special celebration.

May Day has long featured maypole dancing and continues to do so, although in modern times, these festivities are often transferred to the nearest Saturday or Sunday. I don’t think May Gosling jokes are widely perpetrated these days but when I was a lad, it was customary on May Day to play pranks on people, rather like April Fool jokes.

If your target fell for the prank, then he or she was called a May Gosling.

Birch Twig Day was socalled because it was customary on May Day to bring indoors small twigs cut from birch trees. The only reason for this, so far as I can ascertain, is that the householders thought the twigs brought good fortune and prevented evil. Thick bunches of birch twigs were also used for making besoms but it was widely considered unlucky to make besoms during the month of May. The practice was to make as many as possible at other times to ensure that a good stock was available for cleaning jobs during May.

I have not come across Yellowhammer Day in action but nowadays it would be illegal.

Youths would hunt these birds on May Day to kill them because an old superstition suggested this bird drank the Devil’s blood on May 1.

Robin Hood’s Day dates from the 16th century when Robin and Maid Marion featured as the Lord and Lady of the May, and Cattle Anointing Day was the time to ensure the good health of one’s livestock. Cattle were anointed to ensure this but I’m not sure what was used.

Dock Pudding Day involved a cricket match between the White Hats and the Black Hats at Ilkley in West Yorkshire, while at Hebden Bridge the world Dock Pudding Championship was held. The puddings were made from the young leaves of the sweet dock, along with nettles, onions and oatmeal. This mixture was then fried with bacon and served with potatoes.

In some localities, these puddings were eaten on the fifth Sunday of Lent.

Many of us enjoy May as the month of blossom. There can be little doubt that it is the most beautiful month of the year so far as new growth and floral splendour is concerned.

In Anglo-Saxon times it was known as Thri-Milch because the lush growth of this period meant the cows could be milked three times each day.

The present name of May might be derived from the Roman festival in honour of Maia. She was the legendary mother of Mercury, the messenger god, and sacrifices were offered to her on the first day of the month we know as May. Another possibility is that May evolved from the Sanskrit mah meaning growth and yet another is that the month’s name could result from it being dedicated by Romulus to the Roman senators. They were known as majores.

May 2 is also rather special because it is Rowan Tree Day, which is sometimes called Rowan Tree Witch Day.

In times not too far past, Yorkshire folk would decorate their horses, cattle and houses with sprigs of rowan tree leaves, alternatively known as either the mountain ash, witchwood or wicken tree. This was to prevent witches, fairies and other evil spirits from harming the house, the people and the livestock.

In some areas, this custom was undertaken on May 3 but in either case it was essential the sprigs were cut with a domestic knife, not a saw or axe, and that they were collected from a tree never previously used for this purpose. Furthermore, the twigs had to be carried home along a route not used for the outward journey.

Lots of pieces were needed and so a barrow or cart might be required to carry them home.

Back at the house or farm, the rowan twigs were put to work. Some would be fashioned into small crosses to be hung in windows or near doorways while others remained as single twigs but they would be displayed around the house or livestock shelters.

Small crosses might appear above a door, for example, or beside a bedroom window or even within the cow byre. Sometimes, the twigs were pushed into thatched roofs or haystacks as a protection against fire.

People would also wear garlands of rowan, some being gathered later in the year when the beautiful red berries of this tree had matured. These might be worn around the necks of people to ensure general good health but especially to ward off rheumatism. Garlands were also placed around the necks of horses and cattle especially when they were due to breed and one practice was to place a necklace of rowan twigs around the neck of a pig that had been earmarked for slaughter, the belief being that it would produce some very good meat.

Small pieces of rowan were utilised around the house to make pegs and dowels for small carpentry tasks, but also for making the handles of tools such as knives, garden equipment and even ploughs.

All were thought to ensure good fortune and freedom from witches. Horsemen would make their whip handles from rowan too, and in Yorkshire it was said: “If your whipstock’s made of rowan, you can safely drive through any town.”

Certain items of household equipment were also made of rowan to ensure they were free from the harmful attention of witches – one example was the churn. It was widely believed that witches could prevent the milk turning into butter so either the churn itself, or essential parts of it, consisted of rowan wood.

Likewise, cradles, or key parts of them, were also made of rowan to protect babies from harmful influences. Because rowan wood has a tendency to buckle under severe weight or stress, the wood was seldom used for vital beams within the house or outbuildings, although some crossbeams above the hearths of Scottish homes were made of this timber. Its flexibility meant the wood was sometimes used as a substitute for yew when making longbows. So if you wish to protect your house against witches, now is the time to go out and collect those small twigs of rowan with a kitchen knife.