May Day Thoughts

4 Jamal 164 B.E. – Tuesday, May 1, 2007

Today is May 1, May Day. From my childhood, I remember specific events about this day. Dancing around a May Pole, I don’t remember how many kids were doing it. What I do remember is a pole, with colored streamer or long sections of some type of paper or cloth hanging from the pole. Then a group of girls and boys, wearing spring cloths, would wind around the pole and braid the streamers around it. The individual would weave in and out. That’s about all I remember about May Day.

Today is May 1, the 11th Day of Ridvan, which is a more important Holiday to me than May Day. Ridvan is when Baha’u’llah declared his mission to his followers. The momentous event occurred in Bagdad in 1863. Celebrating Baha’u’llah’s Declaration is important to me today.

It’s interesting how a person’s thought and concepts change as they mature. When I was a child the May Day events were important, I guess because it was a break in the routine and dancing around the May Pole was fun for a child. However, while I might watch children dance around a May Pole, I wouldn’t find any other reason to enjoy the activity. However, if I’m given a choice between a May Day event and celebrating Ridvan, I’ll celebrate Ridvan without hesitation.

I’m going to have to do a little research on May Day and the May Pole. Even though, as a child, I participated in these events, I don’t know the history of the day or the activities surrounding the celebration. Growing up no one instructed on its history. I’m not even sure now whether the May Pole Dance was a school event or a church event. It could have been either or both depending on what day May Day occurred and if school was in session. Something you remember completely and other things are random snap shots in a photo album memories. This is one of those random memories. Random snap shots in a photo album sounds like a good title for a poem.