Puget Sound Welsh Association

Sorry for the late post for Mayday celebrated 1st of May, but just happened to find reference to this:

"Key Theories of Origin
Germanic & Celtic Paganism: Many historians believe the maypole originated from the veneration of trees in Iron Age and early Medieval cultures. It was a central feature of the Celtic festival Beltane and the Germanic Walpurgis, marking the transition into summer.Roman Influence: Some evidence suggests it may have begun in Roman Britain about 2,000 years ago during the Floralia festival, where soldiers danced around decorated trees to honour Flora, the goddess of flowers.Symbolism: Traditionally, the pole has been seen as a symbol of vitality and renewal. While some observers (like Sigmund Freud) proposed it was a ph***ic fertility symbol, other scholars argue it was simply a general celebration of new vegetation."

14th Century: The earliest written record of a maypole appears in a Welsh poem from Llanidloes in the mid-1300s.

"The Maypole" (or in Welsh, "Y Fedwen"—The Birch Tree). It was written by the 14th-century poet Gruffudd ab Adda ap Dafydd.Originally misattributed to the famous poet Dafydd ap Gwilym, this poem is considered the earliest written record of a maypole in Britain. Rather than a simple celebration, the poem is actually a lament for a birch tree that was cut down from the wild mountainside and dragged into the town of Llanidloes to serve as a lifeless decoration.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Maypole

https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/waleshistory/2012/04/welsh_may_day_customs_superstitions_traditions.html

The Maypole - Wikipedia "The Maypole" or "To a Birch Tree", known in Welsh as "I'r fedwen", "Y fedwen yn bawl haf", or "Y fedwen las anfadwallt", is a cywydd (a Welsh-language verse form) by the mid-14th century bard Gruffudd ab Adda; it is one of only three poems of his that have survived.[1] It was formerly attributed to...

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