There are usually superstitions associated with the calendar and May is no exception.

"If you wash a blanket in May;
You will wash one of the family away."

"Those who bathe in May
Will soon be laid in clay"

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ROCHESTER SWEEP’S PARADE

One of the surviving British May traditions is the Rochester Sweep’s Parade. This must be an ancient tradition as Sydney, Australia, had a similar parade in the 19th century.

Sweeps

MAY DAY SWEEP'S PARADE

It was common for Sydney and Melbourne sweeps to have a May Day procession of sweeps who carried a well-blackened individual in a sedan chair covered with bushes – tea tree or kunzia – this was their Jack in the Green. Coins were gratefully accepted from the crowds and used to buy ale after the procession.

AUSTRALIAN MORRIS RING

There is an active Morris Dance movement in Australia and each May the various teams perform the dances associated with this month, especially the Padstow May Festivities. For full history of Morris Dancing in Australia please go to the menu.

MAY DAY – LABOUR DAY

May Day is celebrated in Australia as a commemoration of Labour and the success of the eight-hour day campaigns.
It is celebrated by a city street march by union members, many carrying large posters and banners. Some of these union May Day banners have been preserved and occasionally exhibited at the Powerhouse and other museums. The militant Maritime Unions (the old Seaman’s Union) had an exceptionally good collection.

On the 1st May 1886, Australia's first anarchist organisation was formed - The Melbourne Anarchist Club and from this acorn a mighty oak tree grew!

Following from Wikipedia, (the free encyclopedia.):
A Labour Day is an annual holiday that resulted from efforts of the labour union movement, to celebrate the economic and social achievements of workers.

“The celebration of Labour Day has its origins in the eight hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for rest. On 21 April 1856 Stonemasons and building workers on building sites around Melbourne, Australia, stopped work and marched from the University of Melbourne to Parliament House to achieve an eight hour day. Their direct action protest was a success, and they are noted as the first organized workers in the world to achieve an eight-hour day with no loss of pay, which subsequently inspired the celebration of Labour Day in September and May Day.”

Solidarity Forever

May Day is traditionally a public holiday in Northern Territory (May 2nd)
And May 2nd is Labour Day in Queensland. Other states do not necessarily celebrate in May.

I mentioned earlier that the Church, and in this case I meant the Catholic Church, tried to eradicate the British May festivities because of their pagan origins. This proved difficult although I suspect the young maidens have stopped washing their faces in the early dew. What the Church did was ‘adopt’ the tradition and make the focus of May their ‘mother of God’ figure, ‘Mary’. It is no coincidence that the Catholic Church in Australia (and elsewhere) celebrates Mary in the month of May.

Mary = Marion Images

The following extract (sent to me by Marita Blood, Paddington) is an example of how the Church ‘assumed’ May and related it to Mary. Extract is from a book ‘The Madonnas of Europe’. I have coloured the various references to show their direct link to the pagan festivities. It is all quite strangely blatant!

“Images of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Infant Jesus have been revered by Christians from ancient times. The reverence for the image is directed to the persons represented. Crowing a statue of the Lord's Mother is symbolic of the honor we give her as the one chosen by God to bear His Son, our Salvation.

During the Month of May -- a month both named for and dedicated to Mary -- Catholics have long honored her by placing a crown on her image. The tradition in the United States and many other countries has been for school children to have a "May Crowning" ceremony, with a procession, pretty dresses and a wreath of fresh flowers that one child gets to place on the statue. A song for thesefestivals, "Bring Flowers of the Fairest", with its refrain "O Mary, we crown thee with blossoms today, Queen of the Angels, Queen of the May..." has been a familiar favorite for generations.”

Following is an extract from the book Our Lady Book by Father Lasance.
It is an example of how the Church can manipulate tradition by creating something that looks and sounds like a tradition.

    “Each day of May there is a special flower dedicated to Our Lady which corresponds with a particular virtue. When you offer to Mary each day of May the acts of the designated virtue, you will have presented her with a most beautiful spiritual bouquet of flowers by her glorious feast on May 31st of the Queenship of Mary.

May 1st, the Feast of Saint Joseph the Worker, Mary's earthly spouse was the LILY and the designated virtue: PURITY.

May 2nd, the Feast of Saint Athanasius, a ROSE was presented to represent LOVE OF GOD.

May 3rd a MYOSOTIS flower indicates Thanksgiving which is so appropriate for the Feast of the Finding of the Cross.

On the Feast of Saint Monica the flower for Mary is the  PANSY for though this holy widow and mother was no pansy, the virtue she exhibited resulted in her son becoming one of the greatest saints and Doctors of the Church. That virtue is THOUGHT OF HEAVEN.

On the Feast of Saint Pius V the flower presented to the Blessed Mother is the MARGUERITE which represents SIMPLICITY so perfect for this holy Sovereign Pontiff who through his infallible decree Quo Primum sought to make worship so simple with the infrangible Mass of all Ages - the Apostolic Latin Mass.

May 6, the Feast of Saint John Before the Latin Gate is devoted to the virtue of HUMILITY and represented by the VIOLET. So appropriate considering the great humility of the beloved disciple who took Mary as his Mother at her Divine Son's dying request on the cross, to look after her and care for her.”

And so it goes on. For more MAY HISTORY and its relationship to the Catholic Church – please refer to the ‘Calendar’ section of the Folklore of Sydney on this site.

May Baskets

A lovely old tradition for May Day is making May Baskets. Traditionally, homemade paper baskets filled with flowers and candy would be left anonymously on doorsteps of friends or neighbors on the first day of May. School children in Australia used to do this every year, but the custom has nearly disappeared.

“Another May Day tradition that I remember vividly from my childhood was the custom of hanging a basket of flowers on the front door knob of a friend’s home, ringing the bell and running away to let them find and take in the fragrant gift. We made them out of construction paper circles, twirled into a cone, then stapled or glued, with a handle made of ribbon across the top.” (via Marita Blood)