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Friends,
I had envisioned the perfect Maypole setup for my backyard. I was heading to Home Depot to get the right size pole (it’s frowned on to cut a perfectly good tree down) and then on to Michael’s to get an array of ribbons—blues, greens, reds, yellows, and purples—something to distract the eye from the horrible yellow and green that my house is currently painted when I was stopped in my tracks.
Ribbons scream spring if you ask me. From Easter to the 4th of July, ribbons and fresh-cut tulips are the staples of our transition out of winter. You can find them on Easter baskets, in crowns of flowers, on every baby chicken, puppy, or kitten, tied in the perfect bow. Hell, even Home Depot ties them around pots of flowers to entice unsuspecting buyers to pay $75.00 for a $20.00 basket of annuals.
And finally, you can’t have a Maypole without ribbons.
But then again….
No Ribbons Required
I was surprised to learn that ribbons were never part of the original Maypole celebration. Now, before everyone starts throwing their leftover Easter eggs at me, I have proof based on eyewitness reports. The first recorded evidence of Maypole dancing in Britain dates back to 1350, when a tall birch pole was reportedly erected at Llanidloes in central Wales. However, it is important to note that historians have suggested the Maypole celebration might have originated in Germany and traveled to the European Isles with the invading forces.
But even before that, Anthropologist E.O. James suggests that the Maypole originated in ancient Rome. He suggests that trees were stripped of their leaves and limbs and decorated with ivy, vines, and flowers as part of the Roman spring celebration—the festival of Floralia.
No Fun Allowed
Sounds like fun? Great! I agree. It was so much fun that Puritan religious leaders HAD to come in and tear down the Maypole, not only in the U.K. but also in the U.S. There is a story that in 1627, Thomas Morton erected a Maypole in his field, brewed some mead, and invited the whole town to come over for a party. It didn’t go as he expected. Neighbors were appalled and called Myles Standish, a Plymouth leader, to come break up the party.
The Puritan parliament banned celebrations with the Maypole in 1644, along with Christmas (assholes), and none of the traditional pagan celebrations were reintroduced until 1661.
I feel it is important to bring all this up because, while ribbons have a long history, they were a specialty item, not typically bought in massive rolls at the local arts-and-crafts store. They were so scarce and expensive that during the 16th century, the English Parliament attempted to restrict the wearing of ribbons to the nobility only.
In other words, no excess ribbons were lying around to decorate a 30-foot pole.
The Origin of the Ribbons
It wasn’t until 1836 that ribbons on a Maypole appeared in JT Haine’s play Richard Plantagenet at the Victoria Theater in London. As we are all aware, when our favorite actors do something, we tend to follow suit. The ribbons on a Maypole were seen as a way to recreate the “nostalgic make-believe land of ‘Merrie England.’”
That brings me to my final thoughts—if you want a Maypole but don’t want to spend $200 on ribbons, consider putting up your own. It doesn’t have to be 30 feet tall, fancy decorations, or expensive final touches. Hell, for the sake of argument, in this economy, you don’t even need to buy a pole.
All you need is your passion, belief, and open-mindedness to dance in your backyard and say, ‘Welcome Spring.’
Until next time, Keep Reading and Stay Caffeinated.
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