Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1913-05-23
MAY-DAY FETE.
Elaborate Preparations for This
Festival by Middlebury College.


Festival by Middlebury College.
In the early days, among the northern
people, the changes of the season were
closely connected with religious thoughts
and action. Among the Norsemen, the
early English, the Scotch and the Ger
mans, the conquering of the summer by
the winter, and the winter by the sum-
mer have been the main thought. Folk
songs and folk-tales have been cen
tered upon this idea. Sleeping Beau
ty'', Little Red Riding Hood, ETC.,
are but adaptations of it, "St George
and the Dragon" is the same story of
the summer conquering the dreaded
dragon of Hunger and Cold.
The hanging of May baskets by our
boys and girls has more significance
than they realize. The custom of
olden times was each year to go into
the wood, bring back a tree and amid
dancing and singing to set it up on
the village green. Our present day
May pleasures are the reminiscence of
the old custom of bringing in the Spring.
The tree of life, symbolized by the
bringing in of the live tree was later
the May-pole which had a permanent
position on the village green and was
simply decorated the first of May of
every year, the children singing and
dancing about it the while.
The dances accompanying the various
method of celebrating the conquest of
summer over winter were of two kinds
the professional, representing the going
in and out of the cottage doors as the
young folks carried the green, and the
ronde or round dances around the tree
or May-pole.
Naturally, the maidens wore their
gayest costumes. The wearing of gar
lands and wreaths was in celebration of
the same idea. The conquest was later
represented by a sword dance in which
the players in pairs, fought each other
with swords or sticks. Still later the
dancers wore bells and many grotesque
personages were included
This grand festival of the fifteenth
and sixteenth centuries, in all its en-
tirety of dance and song, with cos
tunes, scenes, etc, is to be presented
on the evening of May 3lst by the
women of Mddlebury college
The program will comprise:
Scene Village green and streets.
Part MAY eve, the May singing,
the fairy revels.
Part lI-May morning, going May
ing, bring home the May, setting May
pole, May-pole dance.
Part lll-May day, the procession to
the green, the masQue of st. George,
the crowning of the summer victors.
Part lV-masque. Paris anniversary.
The setting for Paris's anniversary
will be Arcadia, with a fountain of liv-
ing water as the central note. One
hundred and thirty-five girls will be
present on the stage at this time
Music for the mosque has been loaned
by the composer, Mr. Dykema of the Uni
versity of Wisconsin. Costumes will be
unique and symbolic. The scenes will
be true to the time of the play and in
tensifed by light and stage effect.
The Interpretation of the English
May day festival will consist of several
parts:
First-The going out and the bringing
home of the May 1.-TWO processions).
Second-The election and procession
Of the queen procession and May pole
dance).
Third-The Morris dance Ga masque
representing the conquest between sum-
mer and winter.
Fourth-St. George. A mosque rep
resenting the routing of the winter
forces (St. George and the dragon)
The cast for st. George will be:
The Turkish Knight Miss Archibald
st. George Miss Carpenter
The Dragon Miss Holmes
King of Egypt Miss Sheldon
The Doctor Miss Linsley
Sarah Miss Peaslee
Prologue Miss Cudworth
Music Miss Boyce
The cast for paris Anniversary"
will be:
The Shepherd Miss Sha&
The teenen Miss Kendall
And twelve nymphs, the Misses Harri-
man, Funnel and Reynolds as speakers
Other characters represented by
groups of young ladies will be: Milk