Maypole
Beribboned dance center
A maypole is a tall wooden pole erected for May Day celebrations, traditionally decorated with flowers and ribbons.
Dancers hold the ribbons and weave around the pole in patterns, braiding them as they go.
The custom survives in some European and American communities as a folk tradition marking spring: The children danced around the maypole on the village green.
Rhythmic bodily motion
- ribbonsNarrow fabric strips
- garlandDecorative strand of foliage
- midsummerPeak of warm months
- BeltaneCeltic spring fire festival
village green · fair · crowning · queen · pageant · procession · revelry · merrymaking
Interweaving flexible strands
- braidingInterlacing three strands
- circle danceGroup moves in ring
- intertwiningTwisting together mutually
- patternRecurring arrangement or template
spiral · winding · unwinding · steps · choreography · partners · skipping · holding hands
dancing
Rhythmic bodily motion
Beltane · village green · fair · crowning · queen · pageant · procession · revelry · merrymaking · feast
plaiting
Interweaving flexible strands
- braidingInterlacing three strands
- circle danceGroup moves in ring
- intertwiningTwisting together mutually
pattern · spiral · winding · unwinding · steps · choreography · partners · skipping · holding hands · folk dance
fertility
Capacity for reproduction
pagan · phallic · growth · abundance · nature · virility · life · awakening · union · earth
wooden
Made from timber
painted · striped · streamers · flowers · wreath · crown · top · birch · oak · central
- holiday traditionsChristmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Easter, New Year
- folk festivalsBeltane, Samhain, Midsummer, Harvest Festival, harvest festivals
- sacred treessacred trees, world tree, sacred oak, sacred tree, tree of life
- Scandinavian-AmericanSwedish-American, Norwegian-American, Danish-American, Andersonville, Ballard
- ancient festivalsSaturnalia, Lemuria, Samhain, Beltane, Olympic Games
- holidaysChristmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, Halloween, Valentine's Day
Maypolefuneral pyre
Outdoor body-burning structure
gallows · gravestone · tombstone · memorial cross · cenotaph
- maypole danceFolk circle around adorned post