Inside the house, it was a day when a housewife would show her abilities as a cook, and food preserver. She would make a fine, formal dinner with all the foodstuffs left over from the winter season, that remained edible.
May Day was a day for watching the skies, and trying to predict the weather, to ensure safety for the crops. On this day, the families were not to engage in whitewashing, although such was hardly necessary so soon since at Easter time this task had already been performed. Also taboo on May Day was bathing or sailing, and never ever must one have picked up something in the middle of the road on May Day.
Everything in an Irish household was decorated. On May Eve, April 30, a May bush was put into the ground in front of the doorway to the house, then decorated with bouquets of flowers, predominantly yellow, and the colorful shells saved from decorated Easter eggs. Bits of ribbon were fastened to the bush, with pieces of candles on the tips. At dusk of May Eve, these candles were lit, and a dance and song performed in honor of the Virgin Mary.
Flowers were also strung up inside the house, and even woven into the bridles or manes of horses, tied on cattle and sheep, and any possession the family deemed necessary. Although the flowers added beauty and served as a reminder that God had not forgotten His people and the long winter was finally over, this custom came about from a belief that the flowers could ward off evil, and insure blessings in the year to come.
Go To Page: 1 2
| Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: | View all related messages |
For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Lianne Bruynell Lopes's Irish History topic, please visit the Discussions page.