In the late 16th C, proto-Puritans ("if I thought that, I'd beat him like a dog!") were referring to customs like morris dances & Whitsub ales & similar as "heathenish"; by the 18th C many people had the idea that these quaint old-fashioned practices were somehow based in pagan fertility rites or similar, but there really isn't anything concrete to support this idea. Personally, I prefer the beer money explanation!

I'll be dancing in the May in Cambridge, MA at 5am tomorrow; should probably be in bed already!

D.