``Where the
Bishop is, there let the multitude of believers be;
even as where Jesus is, there is the Catholic Church'' Ignatius of
Antioch, 1st c. A.D
May Crowning
As are all flowers, the month of May is
dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, whom we more formally celebrate
as Queen of Heaven on the last day
of
this month. Early in May, a statue of the Virgin at church is crowned
with a wreath of roses, and roses are laid at her feet. Little girls
and boys dress up in their best, often in blue or in their First Communion clothes;
one child carries the
crown on a cushion to the statue and another child is chosen to crown
the statue. The selection process varies -- sometimes a boy is chosen
to bear the wreath, but always a girl is chosen to crown the statue
(usually the oldest girl). The flowers remain throughout the month.
Hymns are sung, too, and especially favored is the Victorian "Bring
Flowers of the Rarest" (lyrics and
melody here).
Catholics honor Mary at home, too, crowning the true "May
Queen's" statue with flowers at their family altars, and leaving roses
(especially red and/or white ones) at her feet, for the entire month of
May.
If you don't have a statue of Our Lady, you can place flowers around a
picture of her. 1 To accompany
the crowning, most any Marian devotion would serve well (e.g., the Rosary, the Little
Crown of the Blessed Virgin, the Litany of
Loreto, etc.)
A communal element of May 1 celebrations -- "maying" -- is the Maypole
-- the erection
of a very tall wooden pole from which hang flowers and, often, great
colored ribbons. If ribbons are present, they are taken in hand by
dancers who dance around the pole such that the ribbons become wrapped
around it. Sometimes the Maypole will be painted in various colors
important to the area in which it is raised, or carved with symbols of
local industry (for an interesting tale of the fate of an
historical Maypole in the United States, see Nathaniel Hawthorne's
short story "The May-pole of
Merry Mount" (pdf, 8 pages).
In some maying celebrations, a king and queen of May -- invariably a
young, unmarried couple -- are chosen and feted, and in some places,
little baskets -- "May baskets" -- are filled with
flowers, fruits, baked goods, or candies and left on friends' and
neighbors' doorsteps. Oh, and women have the custom of getting up early
and walking barefoot outdoors to gather morning dew with which to wash
their faces, letting their skin dry naturally, without using a towel.
This is said by various sources to have different effects -- everything
from a beautiful complexion to luck to wealth to good crops to the
ability to more easily undo knots.
And the figure of the foliage-covered Green Man, that great and ancient
symbol of Spring, may make an appearance. The Green Man's leafy visage
can be found carved and painted in both churches and secular buildings
all over Europe and in the Middle East. For Christians, he is
associated with Adam and the Cross as told in a story recorded by
Jacobus de Voragine (d. 1298) in his "Golden Legend," which recounts
how Adam's son, Seth, cared for his father's body after death:
[A]ll the days
of Adam living here in earth amount to the sum of nine hundred and
thirty years. And in the end of his life when he should die, it is
said, but of none authority, that he sent Seth his son into Paradise
for to fetch the oil of mercy, where he received certain grains of the
fruit of the tree of mercy by an angel.
And when he came again he found his father Adam yet alive and told him
what he had done. And then Adam laughed first and then died. And then
he laid the grains or kernels under his father's tongue and buried him
in the vale of Hebron; and out of his mouth grew three trees of the
three grains, of which trees the Cross that our Lord suffered His
passion on was made, by virtue of which He gat very mercy, and was
brought out of darkness into very light of heaven. To the which He
bring us that liveth and reigneth God, world without end.
Generally, this is the time to get outside, have picnics,
gather
flowers, and enjoy the
feeling of springtime. For secular music to accompany your maying
activities, the classic is "Now is the Month of Maying," written by
Thomas Morley in 1595. Note that this song could be read as bawdy: "barley break"
refers to a chasing game made of three couples (each couple consists of
a man and a woman) who are each stationed in a row in "bases." The
bases are marked plots of land anywhere from 10 to 50 feet square. The
middle base is called the "barley field," "Hell," or "prison," and the
couple stationed on it link arms and have the goal of capturing the
other two couples, who try to enter the "barley field" without getting
caught. When someone is caught, he has to remain in the barley field
until his companion is also caught by the couple linking arms, who
can't leave their plot, but have to try to catch the couples daring to
enter the barley field, taunting the middle couple with the phrase
"barley break!". Once a couple is caught, they have to link arms and
become the catchers. At any rate, the term "barley-break" has been used
in old poetry to refer to the sexual act. But it doesn't have to be
read that way in this song:
Now is the month
of maying,
When merry lads are playing,
Fa la la la la la la la la,
Fa la la la la la lah.
Now is the month of maying,
When merry lads are playing,
Fa la la la la la la la la,
Fa la la la la la lah.
Each with his bonny lass
Upon the greeny grass.
Fa la la la la la la la la,
Fa la la la la la lah.
Each with his bonny lass
Upon the greeny grass.
Fa la la la la la la la la,
Fa la la la la la lah.
The Spring, clad all in gladness,
Doth laugh at Winter's sadness,
Fa la la la la la la la la,
Fa la la la la la lah.
The Spring, clad all in gladness,
Doth laugh at Winter's sadness,
Fa la la la la la la la la,
Fa la la la la la lah.
And to the bagpipe's sound
The nymphs tread out their ground.
Fa la la la la la la la la,
Fa la la la la la lah.
And to the bagpipe's sound
The nymphs tread out their ground.
Fa la la la la la la la la,
Fa la la la la la lah.
Fie then! why
sit we musing,
Youth's sweet delight refusing?
Fa la la la la la la la la,
Fa la la la la la lah.
Fie then! why sit we musing,
Youth's sweet delight refusing?
Fa la la la la la la la la,
Fa la la la la la lah.
Say, dainty nymphs, and speak,
Shall we play barley break?
Fa la la la la la la la la,
Fa la la la la la lah.
Say, dainty nymphs, and speak,
Shall we play barley break?
Fa la la la la la la la la,
Fa la la la la la lah.
In many parts of Italy, the early days of May -- Calendimaggio -- are celebrated in
a big way, most especially in Assisi. There, the celebrations, which
they dedicate to St. Francis
of Assisi, include great medieval dramas, medieval games and
competitions, troubadours, the choosing of a May Queen, parades with
floats, bonfires, feasting on porchetta (roast pig), and other
delights. The entire city joins in on the fun, with townspeople
dressing in medieval costumes to get into the spirit of things.
In Cocullo, Abruzzo, Italy, Saint Dominic di Sora -- a Benedictine
abbot who died in 1031 -- is honored by "la Festa dei Serpari" on the
first of May even though his actual feast is on January 22. Just before
May 1, the people of the town hunt snakes, which they take alive and
bring to the village (there are four species in the area, all
non-poisonous). Then, on the feast itself, Mass is offered for the many
pilgrims who come in from Lazio, Campania, and Molise. Before
leaving the church, people use their mouths to pull a chain that rings
a bell; this is said to prevent toothaches in the coming year (note
that, for hygienic reasons, most people put a cloth in their mouth
before using their teeth to grab the chain). Then a statue of St.
Dominic di Sora is draped in living snakes and processed through the town while the
people, many dressed in their traditional ethnic clothing, sing and
handle the serpents. After the celebrations, the snakes are returned to
the wild whence they came.
Now, Communists made May 1 a day dedicated to the workers
they wanted to turn into revolutionaries. Against that idea, in 1955
Pope Pius XII made May 1 a special day to honor workers by honoring St. Joseph the Worker -- that is, St.
Joseph, the foster-father of Jesus, in his position as a man who worked
hard at carpentry to care for his family. Today, like any day, is a
good day to honor the man entrusted by God to care for His Son and the
Blessed Virgin. As we crown the Virgin as the true Queen of May, let's
remember the man who cared for her, and for the Son Who saved them both.
Finally, there is a beautiful astronomical coincidence for
this time of
year.
In most of the populated areas of the Northern hemisphere, if you go
outside early in May, face East,
and look directly up
overhead, you will see a relatively faint "L" in the sky (assuming the
sky is clear enough). This is the constellation Coma Berenices 2 -- a constellation that was named
after a Queen (actually, a Queen's hair, but
that's another story). Anyway, the second brightest star in this
constellation is called "Diadem" -- crown of royalty. So take your
children outside, point out the star Diadem to them, and think of Our
Lady, crowned in Heaven -- our Queen Mother who wants nothing more than
for us to love her Son...
Footnotes: 1 Tip for keeping cut
flowers fresh: re-cut stems, and put an aspirin, a penny, some sugar,
and a 1/2 capful of bleach into their water. Change water every day and
repeat the above. Keep them in a cool place -- in the fridge at night,
if possible. Doing these things really will keep them fresh a lot
longer!
2
"Coma Berenices" is pronounced "Coe-mah Bair-eh-nee'-chayz." To read
more about the stars, especially the stars of the Zodiac and the stars
as signs, see the Zodiac sub-section of this
site.