The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1930-04-25

as "the morris men," Each village
of any pretension had its own troupe.
The old men took pride in teaching
the youngsters the steps between
Easter Rd Whitsuntide each year.
Then on~Whit Monday all went out
about the countryside dancing, and got
many a piece of silver for their
antics.
Their fiddler played early in the
morning 'to entice 'em to dance"
and off they We're with Screen Car
tiers" around the pole. The morris
men usually had their own fool. Some
times, too, they had in their troupe
that old-time burlesque figure, the
"man-woman," who by the fantasy of
his costume and the indecency of his
conduct was a constant delight to the
broad-minded Elizabethan audience.
Once the morris men have done
their turns the people, whose fete this
rightly is, may dance to their hearts
content. Men and girls dance prettily
together, doing the same steps that
their fathers and mothers did before
them.
The humblest of the village folk
had share in the days merrymaking.
The chimney sweeps had their own
quaint dance to do. May day is the
sweeps holiday. They appear dressed
in fantastic costumes, a little legend
of the sweeps dance is that once
great lady lost her baby boy, and
some years later told an old sweep
about her misfortune He replied that
his sweep, who was at the moment
up her chimney, had been a founding,
and when the boy came down she
"knawed'n be a mark or sunlmat on
'em," and gave clothes and great
cheer to all the sweeps in the town
on the next May day.
Since all of this colorful pageantry,
so much of which has survived in the
May day celebrations Of today, came
originally from the ceremonies held
in honor of the Roman goddess, Maia,
it is interesting to consider some of
the mythology which concerns her.
Maia was the personification of spring
and was thought to have every Bios
her special care and protection. The
Romans engaged in elaborate floral
games during the first week of the
month. Large parties from all classes
of society went into the fields at an
early hour in the morning to gather
xx,l,i tod 70
the temples. The first day of May
was the time for individual floral offer
ings to the goddess, accompanied by
impressive religious ceremonies.
Maia was the eldest Of the Pleiades,
the seven daughters Of Atlas and
Pleione. Because of the deep sadness
in the lives Of the seven sisters they
were transformed into doves and, fly
ing high up into the sky, in order to
escape the great hunter Orion, were
changed into the seven stars which
form the constellation known as the
Pleiades, visible from May to Sep
TENDER. The seven daughters of Atlas,
whose duty it was to carry the world
on his shoulders, were called the
Pleiades, the Greek word for dove, be-
cause of their great affection and deep
sorrow for their father, since in liter
ature and poetry the dove has always
been the emblem Of innocence, gentle
ness and affection.
The story of Maia would not be
complete without mention of her son,
Mercury, the messenger of the gods.
In order that he might perform his
duties as messenger more swiftly,
Mercury was given by Jupiter wings
for his feet and winged cap for his
head. He is said to have invented
the harp and to have given it to the
sun god Apollo, who in return pre-
scented him with a magic wand called
Caduceus, which had the power Of
making enemies become friends.