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Kings Journal: A sign of love (Patreon)

Published:
2020-05-01 14:08:43
Imported:
2021-07

Content

May 1st is a special day in Germany. Of course it is "Day of Labour", too,  but the date is also connected with many old traditions.
In this Kings Journal I will show you one of them. My favourite one.

The Maytree - Der Maibaum

Each year during the last night of April to May 1st many German communities, including small villages and big cities set up a Maytree. A Maytree is an evergreen, which is decorated with coloured ribbons on a long stake. 

It can also be a birch or a big ring made of evergreen or birch branches. Some communities also add symbols showing artisans work or local crests to the stake.
Depending on the area the Maytree looks different.


Who sets it up?
In villages local bachelor/bachelorette clubs set up the tree.
In towns and big cities the work is usually done by a fire brigade or official employees of the city. 

Work can be done with muscle strength or with a crane.

Because of the Corona epidemic most communities do not have a Maytree this year.
And some never have one: The tradition does not exist everywhere in Germany.


An overview of Germany and Europe

These areas in Germany have a Maytree tradition (I marked them green roughly):
Ostfriesland, Emsland, Rhineland, Saarland, Palatinate, parts of Baden-Württemberg, parts of Bavaria, parts of Saxony.

The tradition is also known in:
Austria, Czech Republic, Slowenia and Slovakia.

The Maytree tradition is also related to the Midsommar tree tradition in Skandinavia.


A sign of love
In Rhineland young, unmarried men present Maytrees to girlfriends. These Maytrees are birches, decorated with coloured ribbons, which are set up in front of the house of the loved one.

Such a special Maytree can also be called "Liebesmaie" (literally "lovemay").
In a leap year women present men lovemays.
Alternately (if there is not enough space for a tree) a braided heart made of birch branches with coloured ribbons can be given to a girl/boyfriend.
Big cities like Cologne also have extra markets, where people can buy a maytree.

Traditions always evolve over the centuries so nowadays unmarried women and men can present each other a Maytree no matter if it is a leap-year or not.
In rare cases married couples present a Maytree to ensure, that they are still in love.
Some people give a Maytree to an ex-boy/girlfriend to request another chance.
And sometimes a single person wakes up in the morning with a Maytree in front of the house and it will be a riddle who is the secret admirer.
But there is also another secret.


The origin of the Maytree
Having a big decorated tree in front of the house or on a public square is a beautiful sight.
The coloured ribbons dance with the wind and spring has come.
But the origin of the Maytree is unknown. Historians guess that it is an old Germanic tradition. Germanics worshipped forest gods as well as the Nordic gods.
The Maytree could be a symbol to praise a divine being, but Germanics rarely left recordings so it will remain a riddle.
Fact is, that the Maytree successfully survived all Christian attempts to overshadow or erase this tradition in Germany.
So the Maytree and the christmas tree tradition are a happy couple.

Thank you for reading.

Have you ever heard about this tradition?
Is there a similiar tradition in your home country?
Tell me in the comments.










Files

Comments

Daniel

In the USA, the Maytree/Maypole is popular in areas with large numbers of German or British ancestry, but in Utah, where I'm from, it's unheard of. There isn't really any spring tradition besides Easter and maaaybe Mother's Day since it's in May so a lot of the gifts for it are spring-themed. I currently live in Taiwan, and May is a little strange because there are no holidays. There are a bunch of holidays in January, February, March, and April, most of which move around a little because they're based on the lunar calendar, but from about the second week of April to the first week of June (sometimes even later, like this year the next holiday is June 25), there are no holidays, so May is something of a dry period where people get stretched a little thin from working so long without a break--especially since most people here still work six days a week. We need better May traditions here, LOOOL!

greeneyedwolfking
>>36201817

Thank you for your comment Daniel! :) I did not know, that this tradition also exists in some areas of the USA. I think that's nice. I must admit, that I hardly know anything about holidays in Taiwan. Most holidays in Germany are related to Christian events like Christmas, Easter, Pentecost and some more. Some holidays also depend on Protestant or Catholic areas. At last there are also historic holidays like 1st May or Day of German Unity. As a freelancer I actually lost connection to most holidays, because I tend to work most days. Nevertheless I consider holidays as important for all hard working people. Especially for those who really need and deserve a break.

Thomas Polk

To my knowledge dancing around the May Pole, read tree, is a pagan phallic tradition of virility easily associated with the fecundity,-fertility ritual of Easter. Spring signified a vital, sexual, life-giving force of the nature gods and the sexual repression, incorporation of Holy 'Mother' Church could not withstand it. So, the Church compromised aligning its holy Days with the pagan rites.

greeneyedwolfking
>>36442314

I also read about the phallic theory, but since there is no proof, we will never really know. In general I prefer pagan rites, because they are usually open for everyone and in Germany the old rites have much happier celebrations compared to Church holidays, which tend to be depressive and sad.

Joseph

This is a really interesting tradition, I like the Maytrees pics you showed! I enjoy these old traditions, there is a lot of beautiful elements to them, and unfortunately some are forgotten or overshadowed by other things. I don't think on Brazil we have this, at least, not around where I live, I do remember I saw something similar on a more recent Power Ranger season, where they had this tree on the outskirts of the city where they put colorfull ribbons to it, as a way to remember moments of love and friendship, it is really nice :3