Folklore: Dancing up the sun

Subject: RE: Folklore: Dancing up the sun
From: concertina ceol
Date: 27 Apr 07 - 04:47 PM

Hi Les

May Day is traditionaly the first day of summer and I suppose the dancing is a remnant of the may fairs that were commonly held on this day throughout england. In theory the frosts are all finished so there is a celebration before the hardwork of planting begins.

The first of may has also gained a reputation in more recent times as a day when workers can assert their rights to fair pay, equal treatment etc. In their wisdom the british goverment have the may bank holiday as a "movable feast" and so the bank holiday usually falls on the nearest inconvenient day to may day.

Weald of Kent dance predominantly adderbury, bampton and headington dances being formed in 1988 by former members of two nearby cotswold sides Ravensbourne MM and Hartley MM. Surely you have heard of them?!

Peter

Subject: RE: Folklore: Dancing up the sun
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 27 Apr 07 - 04:38 PM

Look, I know spoof is a dangerous word but......

Subject: RE: Folklore: Dancing up the sun
From: GUEST,Tiddley Cove morris
Date: 27 Apr 07 - 04:05 PM

In Vancouver BC, Tiddley Cove Morris and Vancouver Morris Men will be leaping about in Trimble Park from about 5:30 am. As usual. And then we descend on Joe's Grill for breakfast. He opens early especially for us.
www.vancouvermorrismen.org website has a long collection of May Day photos.
Rumour has it Bowen Island's Black Sheep Morris does something on the Island.
Somewhere there must be a morris link with this info for us?

AC in BC

Subject: RE: Folklore: Dancing up the sun
From: MBSLynne
Date: 27 Apr 07 - 03:50 PM

I will be watching Packington Morris (including my son, RAT-W) dancing from 4.30am on Breedon Hill in South Derbyshire. The forecast sounds as though we will actually be able to see the sun come up. It starts the summer for me every year.

Love Lynne

Subject: RE: Folklore: Dancing up the sun
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 27 Apr 07 - 03:48 PM

"Tradition has it that failure to 'welcome in the summer' will result in the nights continuing to grow longer, and summer will never come."

Sounds good to me Bernard but wehat tradition is that?

Is May the start of Spring?

Subject: RE: Folklore: Dancing up the sun
From: GUEST,Rattler
Date: 27 Apr 07 - 03:41 PM

Rattlejag Morris dance at sunrise (5.30 ish) on Castle Hill, Laxton, Nottinghamshire. Come and share our bacon, black pudding & beer breakfast!

Subject: RE: Folklore: Dancing up the sun
From: Bernard
Date: 27 Apr 07 - 03:32 PM

Tradition has it that failure to 'welcome in the summer' will result in the nights continuing to grow longer, and summer will never come.

So do we risk it being a legend with no factual basis and ignore it completely, or do we do the sensible thing...?!

;o)

Subject: RE: Folklore: Dancing up the sun
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 27 Apr 07 - 03:27 PM

"The Southport Swords (SW Lancs)are regularly (i.e. annually) to be seen in the centre of the town at 0525 or so. Dancing, singing and drinking when the beer festival starts at 0600!"

So thats SW Lancs dancing Yorkshire Longsword?

"I'll be playing for dancing (Boggart's Breakfast border morris) at dawn on Tuesday morning - on top of a mountain in the Derbyshire Peak District"

Border Morris in Derbyshire?

"I play for weald of kent morris and we dance at dawn in the village of Goudhurst. ............ We then "winster" through the village and do another stand at the duck pond.

Is that Winster in Derbyshire?

"Alderley Edge (links with King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, Merlin, etc.) is the place to be!"

That's Aurthur a fictional character?

Is anyone else confused?

Subject: RE: Folklore: Dancing up the sun
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 27 Apr 07 - 02:41 PM

What is special about the sun and May day?

Subject: RE: Folklore: Dancing up the sun
From: ClaireBear
Date: 27 Apr 07 - 02:30 PM

JohnB

Yes, I know (and have raised pints, voices and concertinas with) several of those teams. Although Vancouver and especially Victoria are (less than a degree) farther west than Sebastopol, they're also so much farther north that sunrise comes earlier after the spring equinox. In Victoria, BC, 2006 May Morning sunrise was at 5:50 -- Sebastopol's was at 6:12.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Dancing up the sun
From: Bernard
Date: 27 Apr 07 - 02:17 PM

Alderley Edge (links with King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, Merlin, etc.) is the place to be!

Subject: RE: Folklore: Dancing up the sun
From: JohnB
Date: 27 Apr 07 - 02:14 PM

We will be dancing in High Park in Toronto Ontario Canada.
It will be the 10th year for some of us from Orange Peel Morris , the event however has been going on for over twenty five years (can't remember the exact number)
The other teams normally attending would include Green Fiddle Morris(Cotswold), Toronto Morris Men(Cotswold), The Belles of York(Northwest Clog), Toronto Women's Sword(Obvious),Cold Barn Morris(Cotswold), Half Crown Clog(Step Clog), Sorry if I missed anyone.
We dance near the Grenadier Restaurant in High Park at dawn, everyone does two show dances, these are interspersed with a couple of massed dances and a singing of Hal and Tow and the Padstow May song.
There can be a hundred or so, with onlookers etc. on a good warm day.
One of Orange Peel's dances will be a dance which we have stolen from Boggart's Breakfast when we danced with them and Pecsaetan(sp) and a couple of more tems, in Sheffield in 2004. So if you are in the neighbourhood Dazbo come and play for us, oh yes the dance is Stephensons Rocket.
There are at least two if not three teams on Vancouver Island, so you may be out of luck with the Guiness Book of records ClaireBear. It should not stop you drinking some Guiness though.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Dancing up the sun
From: concertina ceol
Date: 27 Apr 07 - 01:23 PM

I play for weald of kent morris and we dance at dawn in the village of Goudhurst. We do it at the church gates which is next to a pub called the star and eagle who hate us so it is all the more sweet dancing there ;-). We then "winster" through the village and do another stand at the duck pond.

Kits Coty dance at dawn at the Kits Coty stones (near Maidstone)

Subject: RE: Folklore: Dancing up the sun
From: ClaireBear
Date: 27 Apr 07 - 12:12 PM

Teams in Santa Cruz, Berkeley, and Sebastopol (where I'll be) -- all in California -- Wouldn't miss it. I know there are other west coast teams who do this as well. We believe we're vying for "last" to dance up the sun, as our sunrise is later than most of the rest of the world's. Though there may be teams in British Columbia who are farther west, and certainly if there are any in Alaska...

New Zealand teams may be first, if they enact the tradition.

One member of Mayfield Morris (a women's side in Palo Alto, California) who has native Hawaiian ancestry used to talk about going to Hawaii and starting a team specifically to be last. Not sure if she ever did it, though.

Cheers,
Claire

Subject: RE: Folklore: Dancing up the sun
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 27 Apr 07 - 09:59 AM

They do it in Oxford too. And I believe Eliza usually attends a related event in Yorkshire.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Dancing up the sun
From: Dazbo
Date: 27 Apr 07 - 09:56 AM

I'll be playing for dancing (Boggart's Breakfast border morris) at dawn on Tuesday morning - on top of a mountain in the Derbyshire Peak District (well, it's counts as a mountain in England)

Subject: RE: Folklore: Dancing up the sun
From: Snuffy
Date: 27 Apr 07 - 09:52 AM

I will be dancing at dawn with the Shakespeare Morris Men in Stratford-upon-Avon, and within ten miles of us the Ilmington, Chipping Campden, Pebworth and White Hart Morris sides will all be similarly engaged.

That'll do for a start

Subject: RE: Folklore: Dancing up the sun
From: Schantieman
Date: 27 Apr 07 - 09:51 AM

The Southport Swords (SW Lancs)are regularly (i.e. annually) to be seen in the centre of the town at 0525 or so. Dancing, singing and drinking when the beer festival starts at 0600!

Steve

Subject: Folklore: Dancing up the sun
From: cloudstreet
Date: 27 Apr 07 - 09:44 AM

There'll be dancing up the sun in Brisbane this May Day. I'm interested to find out how widespread (or otherwise) this practice is.

Are there any catters who dance at dawn on 1st May?

Forgive me if the answer to this question is absurdly obvious to you all, but I live in a cave.

John