Heritage from Home - May Day

May Day or  Bealtaine is an important festival with its origins in the ancient past. 

Traditionally it is a time when the fairies, or Sídhe, are thought to be especially active. It is also associated with fire and many may remember burning the May bush or bonfires on the 1st of May. The collection of flowers to make posies or crowns was another important custom.

The flowers were usually gathered before dusk on May Eve or before the dawn on May Day and were scattered on the threshold of the house to protect against the fairies and bring good luck.In Fingal there was a popular tradition associated with the May bush.

The children would decorate a May bush or hawthorn tree with flowers and ribbons. They would dance around it singing ‘a long life and a happy wife and something for the may bush’ while collecting money. Source: The National schools Collection 1937-39