Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1897-05-06

- - 10y 49, HAskA
its joyous associations, We are CON-
pelled to go back to . time when
men Personified the powers Of ma
ture and called them gods and god
desses. How far back the goddess
OF the flowers was adored at the
season when the earth put on her
green mantle with its floral span
giles of every hue. We do not know
for the earliest records speak of .
spring festival as an institution al
ready we'll estxblished nn1 even then
known more from ancient times.
The Egyptians made pictures OF
everything, so it is not surprising
that among the paintings on the
walls of their catacombs there
should be found some which from
the accompaniments of flowers,
garlands and wreaths, are judged
by the antiquarians to be of spring
festival, feast of flowers. May
Day is therefore at least $500 years
old, and it is quite possible that
Adam and Eve celebrated May Day
in the garden of paradise if they
stayed there over one season.
When traces of May Day are dis
covered in the earliest ages Of Egypt
and at the dawn Of history in
Greece. among the Etruscans,
among the Celts of the Rhone and
the Germans of the Rhine, in
Scandinavia and Wales and Ireland,
among the natives of the Indian
Peninsula and among the Aborig-
ines of America and Australia and
New Guinea, the conclusion 10 safe
that such custom 10 of universal
observance and remotest antiquity.
So it may be that the Chinese are
not as extravagant as they seem
when they claim that May Day orig
mated in the Celestial Empire Co.,
600 years before the food, being in
stituted by the never-to-be-enough-
praised Emperor Chi-Whee, who
was fond of flowers and employed
exactly ], 200, 900 men to take care
Of his garden.
Leaving, however, the elaine of
the glorious Chi-Whee to be de-
Tended by his own people, it is
worth remembering that q festival,
in many particulars bearing q close
resemblance to our May Day, was
celebrated all over Italy and the
south of Europe at the beginning
of the Christian era, when every
one who could spare the time went
into the fields for a days outing,
gathered flowers and returning laid
them on the affairs of Flora. It is
also interesting to know that on
these occasions the goddess of fow-
ers was personated by young girl.
the prettiest who could be found,
who during the day, received the
homage Of her friends and was
crowned with the spoils of the fields,
genuine Queen of the May. As
cities grew, it became inconvenient
to go far into the country, for the
excursion steamers and railroad
trains packed full Of pleasure seek
ers were not, and substitute was
found by bringing tree into town,
setting it in the ground in public
place, decorating it with flowers,
which the country people, in the
hope Of gaining shekels. or oboli,
or denarii, or whatever other coin
was legal tender for debts public
and private in the neighborhood,
were easily induced to bring in.
Thus in the May pole is seen the
descendant Of the green tree, and
the dancing about it in circles is
explained by the fact that :ae only
way to dance round il at all /. u cir
Gle, and also, perhaps, the circle
has always had mystic significance
being much used in charms and in i.
carnations. Having learned this
much from the antiquariass, these
digniSed folk may be teld to 20
about their business. for the rest of
our knowledge of May Dag and its
festivities may easily be had from
other sources than their ponderous
and almost unresdable tones.
From authors of our own ton.
gue we may CLEAN almost innumer.
able references and illusions to the
pretty custom of hallowing the
May Day, and We also learn that
less than 200 years ago the May
pole was as indispensable in every
English village as the stocks or the