Summer is a-comin' in,
Loudly sing cu-cu.
So sing the birds as warm weather becomes daily, flowers and trees show their signs of rebirth, and people dance around their Maypoles to celebrate the new season of growth, partnership and fertility.
Celebration of the new season goes back many centuries, and is remembered in different ways by many cultures.
Druids remember this day as Beltane, the festival of spring, one of eight special days of the year, and one of the few that were not adopted and transformed by the spiritual tradition that spread to Europe nearly two thousand years ago. Beltane is still honored, however, only now the celebration is called May Day.
Labor unions in Europe also observe this day as important to the movement to protect worker rights. This was true in America also, until after the Haymarket Riots in Chicago in 1886. This led the federal government to shift Labor Day to September. However, 66 other countries still celebrate Labor Day on May 1.
As for using "Mayday" as a call for help, that began in 1923, when an aeronautical expert in London was asked to devise a term that pilots in both England and France could use.
Engineer Fred Mockford offered the French phrase "M'aidez" (pronounced "Mayday") which means "help me."
Loudly sing cu-cu.
So sing the birds as warm weather becomes daily, flowers and trees show their signs of rebirth, and people dance around their Maypoles to celebrate the new season of growth, partnership and fertility.
Celebration of the new season goes back many centuries, and is remembered in different ways by many cultures.
Druids remember this day as Beltane, the festival of spring, one of eight special days of the year, and one of the few that were not adopted and transformed by the spiritual tradition that spread to Europe nearly two thousand years ago. Beltane is still honored, however, only now the celebration is called May Day.
Labor unions in Europe also observe this day as important to the movement to protect worker rights. This was true in America also, until after the Haymarket Riots in Chicago in 1886. This led the federal government to shift Labor Day to September. However, 66 other countries still celebrate Labor Day on May 1.
As for using "Mayday" as a call for help, that began in 1923, when an aeronautical expert in London was asked to devise a term that pilots in both England and France could use.
Engineer Fred Mockford offered the French phrase "M'aidez" (pronounced "Mayday") which means "help me."
By the way, the verse cited in the opening is from an Old English song, one of the few melodies from those times still known to scholars.
This is the original: Sumer is icumin in, llude sing cucu.
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