Reading through the thread took me back some years to when the sprogs were little and I got to pondering about the May procession they used to attend in our local Catholic church. Looks like one of those Pagan/Christian cross-culture thing.

Ostensibly the procession and mass were in honour of 'Our Lady'. The boys in their best school uniforms and girls in their pretiest frilly frocks would process around the church holding flowers and singing the hymn 'Mary we crown thee with blossoms today, Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May.' It was a lovely sight and I'm getting tears in my eyes now thinking of all those pink scrubbed little faces grinning while singing in those multiple keys only possible to crowds of children.

One of the girls - picked amidst weeks of political wrangling by the most scheming of mothers - would then have the honour of climbing the steps at the side of the statue of Mary to place a crown of flowers on the head of the statue.

I had always figured that the coming of spring would be celebrated in pre-christian tradition with masses of spring blooms and the crowning of a 'May Queen' seems to be distincly pagan-ish. I guess that these traditions, like those of midwinter and midsummer would have been 'hijacked' by the early missionaries. Anyone know if this is right or am I barking up the wrong tree (or barking mad even!).

As an aside, having grown up in both the Catholic and Russian Orthodox traditions we always used to celebrate both May and October as the months of 'Our Lady' - May and Mayday with the Catholics and October and Pakrov (sp???) in the Orthodox.

Anyhow, whatever your religious or secular preference, have a happy Mayday and an even better month.

Cheers

Dave the Gnome