Traditionally in Britain and continental Europe, a tall pole decorated with vegetation and ribbons on the first of May, and the focus of festivities on that day to welcome Spring and ensure fertility. Since the later 19th-c a shorter pole is sometimes substituted, around which adults or children perform a plaited-ribbon dance at many open-air festivities (such as village weddings or the traditional Well Dressings of Derbyshire).
The maypole is a tall wooden pole (traditionally of hawthorn or birch), sometimes erected with several long coloured ribbons suspended from the top, festooned with flowers, draped in greenery and strapped with large circular wreaths, depending on local and regional variances. What is often thought of as the "traditional" English/British maypole (a somewhat shorter, plainer version of the Scandinavian pole with ribbons tied at the top and hanging to the ground) is a relatively recent development of the tradition and is probably derived from the picturesque, Italianate dances performed in mid-19th century theatricals.
With roots in Germanic paganism, the maypole traditionally appears in most Germanic countries and Germanic country-bordering, most popularly in Germany, Sweden, Austria, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, and Finland in modern times for Spring, May Day, Beltane and Midsummer festivities and rites.
Regional traditions
Germany
Sweden
In Sweden it is usually called a midsommarstång, as it appears at the Midsummer celebrations, but it is also called majstång, as the word maja means to decorate with greens and that is exactly how most Swedes decorate them.
Sometimes a crown of flowers is placed on top of the maypole, supported by the ribbons, so that it gradually descends the pole as the ribbons are woven together, finally falling to the ground.
Today maypole dances are often done without dividing the participants by gender, simply having them in pairs facing one another so half go one way and half go the other.
In Sweden similar traditions were once observed but today the pole is the centre of traditional ring dances, the songs being more or less the same as during the dances around the Christmas tree.
United Kingdom
The Maypole as a simple pole is several centuries old in the United Kingdom, but the addition of ribbons seems to have been influenced by a combination of 19th century theatrical fashion and visionary individuals such as John Ruskin in the 19th century.
A somewhat different Mayday Maypole tradition existed in some regions, which was the carrying of smaller, highly decorated sticks, with hoops or cross-sticks or swags attached, covered with flowers, greenery or artificial materials such as crepe paper. GT
Czech Republic
The maypole (májka or máj) is also still popular in the Czech Republic, in country villages. Villages compete to get taller maypoles than their neighbors, and during the night the youths of a village guard the maypole to keep ruffians from neighboring villages from knocking it over (while at the same time attempting forays into neighboring villages to knock over the maypoles of others).
United States
While not celebrated amongst the general public in the United States a Maypole Dance nearly identical to that celebrated in the United Kingdom is an important part of many Secondary or High School dances as part of a May Day celebration. Often the Maypole dance will be accompanied by other dances as part of a presentation to the public.
Symbolism
The Maypole is often considered a phallic symbol, coinciding with the worship of Germanic phallic figures such as that of Freyr.
However, the assertion of phallic symbolism in relation to Maypoles is based on speculation and possibility rather than evidence and does not reflect its current semiotic values: celebration, community, youthfulness and the arrival of summer.
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