It's Friday once again, and since yesterday was Mayday, or Beltane, I thought I'd do a diary on Maypoles and the Maypole Dance.
As you can see by Itzl's concerned look, this group is for us to check in at to let people know we are alive, doing OK, and not affected by such things as heat, blizzards, floods, wild fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, power outages, or other such things that could keep us off DKos. It's also so we can find other Kossacks nearby for in-person checks when other methods of communication fail - a buddy system. Members come here to check in. If you're not here, or anywhere else on DKos, and there are adverse conditions in your area (floods, heatwaves, hurricanes, etc.), we and your buddy are going to check up on you. If you are going to be away from your computer for a day or a week, let us know here. We care!
IAN is a great group to join, and a good place to learn to write diaries. Drop one of us a PM to be added to the Itzl Alert Network anytime! We all share the publishing duties, and we welcome everyone who reads IAN to write diaries for the group! Every member is an editor, so anyone can take a turn when they have something to say, photos and music to share, a cause to promote or news!
Ok, we do have a diary schedule. But, when you are ready to write that diary, either post in thread or send FloridaSNMOM a Kosmail with the date. If you need someone to fill in, ditto. FloridaSNMOM is here on and off through the day usually from around 9:30 or 10 am eastern to around 11 pm eastern.
Monday:
BadKitties
Tuesday:
bigjacbigjacbigjac
Wednesday:
Caedy
Thursday:
weck
Friday:
FloridaSNMOM
Saturday:
broths
Sunday:
loggersbrat
The Maypole dance is a European tradition believed to have started in Germany to celebrate fertility and spring growth. In some countries, like Scandinavia it takes place in Midsummer instead.
Begun during the iron age, it's thought that the original Maypole was a live tree. Dancers hold one end of a long ribbon, the other is attached to the tree, and as they dance they weave the ribbon around the 'pole'. To take the ribbon off, they perform the dance in reverse.
Some countries now erect a decorated pole instead of holding an actual dance, but there's still a festival and procession held. Usually if the tree is erected on "May eve" there's a dance held after. The tree is left in place for a month, then taken down, though in some parts of Bavaria the tree is left in place for the full year.
Resources:
Wikipedia
Encyclopedia Britannica