Figure 1.--This postcard back portrait is a May Queen's court in Nelson, Lancs., probably in the 1920s. In his case we just see the May Queen and her extended court, of course with white dresses and plenty of flowers.

The May Queen is of less certain history than May Day celebrations, in general. There semm to be Ronam origins. The May Queen is Flora, the Roman goddess of the flowers. This is of course made her the Sping/d ertility godness. Titus Tatius (according to Roman tradition, the Sabine king who ruled with Romulus). He is credited with introducing her cult to Rome. Her temple was located the Circus Maximus. Her festival, called the Floralia, was instituted (238 BC). Spring was obviously her season. Flora was depicted by the Romans dresses in light spring clothing, holding bouquets of flowers or crowned with blossoms. Such godesses were common in ancient religions which, made it an easy fit with the Celts and Germans (Anglo-Saxons). In socities based on agriculture such traditions were of obvious imkprtance. Many popular Roman pagan festivals continued into the Christain era. May Fairs and May Day Festivals is very long, not only in England, but throughout Europe. The tradition of chosing a village maiden to represent the queen seems to be of more recent origin. [Frazer] There is documnted evidence of May Queens dating the Medieval period. They seem very common in the first half of the 20th century. Almost all of the photographs we have found come from this period. We have found very few school or any other May Day celebration images in the second half of the 20th century. There are quite a number of areas that keep the tradition alive and are very proud of continuing the tradition. Some date back over a century of continuous observation. The tradition itself is far more ancient, but most localities do not have a documented record of continuous observation. May Queens are no longer ubiquitous as they once were.

Ancient Origins

The May Queen is of less certain history than May Day celebrations, in general. There semm to be Ronam origins. The May Queen is Flora, the Roman goddess of the flowers. This is of course made her the Sping/d ertility godness. Titus Tatius (according to Roman tradition, the Sabine king who ruled with Romulus). He is credited with introducing her cult to Rome. Her temple was located the Circus Maximus. Her festival, called the Floralia, was instituted (238 BC). Spring was obviously her season. Flora was depicted by the Romans dresses in light spring clothing, holding bouquets of flowers or crowned with blossoms. Such godesses were common in ancient religions which, made it an easy fit with the Celts and Germans (Anglo-Saxons). In socities based on agriculture such traditions were of obvious imkprtance.

Medieval Era

Many popular Roman pagan festivals continued into the Christain era. May Fairs and May Day Festivals is very long, not only in England, but throughout Europe. The tradition of chosing a village maiden to represent the queen seems to be of more recent origin. [Frazer] There is documnted evidence of May Queens dating the Medieval period.

The 19th Century

We know nothing about May Day celebrations in the early-19th century. Photography appeared at mid century (1839). This means we have a wonderful view into English life that never existed before. The photographic record was, however, largely limited to the studio. And we have not yet found any 19th century images. Because we have some 1900s decade images, we suspect that May Day celbrations were common, but just not extensively photiographed in the 19th century, at least in the late-19th century. Notably, the first Labor oriented May Day was observed (1890). For several decades, however, it was the traditional May Day celebrations that were most important.

The 20th Century

May Day celebrations includiung May Queens seem very common in the first half of the 20th century. We have found quite a few community celebrations, inclusing actibities in and out of schools. And the May Queen seema very imprtant part of these May Day celebrations. The image here is a good example (figure 1). Photography exploded outside the studio and there are many images in the photographic record documenting May Day celebratiions of all kinds, but the May Queen is at the heart of them. School participation were an imprtant part of thge ceklebvratins, involcing mant children. Almost all of the photographs we have found come from this period. We have found very few school or any other May Day celebration images in the second half of the 20th century after World War II (1939-45). We are not entirely why. We suspect that the victory of the Labour Party in the 1945 General Electiin and the shift toward socialism was a factor. Traditiional May Day celevratiions apparentky seemed dated and old-fashiined to many in post-War Britain. There are quite a number of areas that keep the tradition alive locally and are very proud of continuing the tradition. Some date back over a century of continuous observation. The tradition itself is far more ancient, but most localities do not have a documented record of continuous observation. May Queens are, however, no longer ubiquitous as they once were.

The 21st Century

One pbserver writes abiout May Day in modern Britain, " Most people pay it about as much attention as they pay April 30. They rumble off to work if it’s a work day. They clean up the hairball the cat left on the end of the couch. They save a couple of rubber bands in little plastic dish that came with the plums they bought at the supermarket. Or maybe that business with the rubber bands is just me. I’m not British-British, just Americo-British. We can’t judge the British by what I do. An English-British friend saves them in a drawer. Maybe that’s more culturally appropriate."

Sources

Frazer, James George Frazer. The Golden Bough Ch X is "Relics of Tree Worship in Modern Europe".

Created: 12:41 AM 2/7/2022
Last updated: 1:54 PM 1/12/2023