May Tree & May Boys - The Year in Ireland with Áirc Damhsa Culture Club

On Lá Bealtaine we decorate the May bush or May tree in our gardens to celebrate the beginning of summer. We usually pick a hawthorn tree as it’s the tree of the fairies but any tree or bush in your garden will do. When all the decorating is done, we spend the evening celebrating the return of summer having a feast with our friends and family, dancing around the May tree.
This morning as the sun did rise
We decorated this bush for you to surprise
With our fiddles flutes and tin whistles we’ll play
To bring you good cheer on the first of May
Have you ever heard of the May Boys? They’re kind of the same as the wren boys at Christmas but the May boys celebrate Bealtaine. Boys and girls dress in colourful cloths and floral crowns carrying a branch from the May bush decorated with ribbons and rags. The May Queen carries the May Babóg made from straw or rushes. Going from house to house they play music, sing and dance on the doorsteps, bringing the summer with them.
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The Year in Ireland is a project by the children at Áirc Damhsa Culture Club with Edwina Guckian documenting the folk traditions and calendar customs of Ireland. For more videos visit www.aircdamhsa.com/the-year-in-ireland
Supported by The Arts Council