I would be remiss if I did not take the opportunity to remind everyone of a rather important event coming up.
In just two days, it shall be the first of May.
What’s so important about the first of May?
Well, let’s have Jonathan Coulton explain it in song. Those at work may want to use the headphones for this one.
Jonathan Coulton – First of May
Still with me? Good! Now we can talk about what you just listened to.
Let me start off by saying this. The first of May has been associated with debauchery long before JoCo so eloquently put it in song.
The association of sexual activity and May 1st has its origin rooted in ancient Pagan customs, in this case the Celtic festival of Beltane or more commonly known as May Day. May 1st is a cross-quarter day, a day falling approximately in the middle of a solstice and an equinox and marked either the beginning or middle of a season, depending on culture. For the case of May 1st, it marks the beginning of traditional summer for some cultures such as ancient Irish or the middle of astronomical spring for cultures such as modern United States. In particular, the beginning of May was the end of the winter half of the year and festivals were held to honor the passing of the winter and the onset of the summer. These celebrations were rooted in fertility, growth and renewal so, as a result, the celebrations were popular and often raucous, regardless of the political or religious views of the day.
With the onset of Christianity, many Pagan holidays were either merged with or replaced by new Christian holidays or changed into more secular celebrations. May Day fell into the later, becoming more secular and losing its religious significance. Soon festivals celebrating fertility were replaced with dancing around the Maypole and crowning the Queen of the May, who was often dressed in white to symbolize purity and crowned with flowers. Flowers were encouraged to be given in the form of May baskets, solidifying flowers as a symbol of fertility and life while downplaying the role of intercourse as a celebration of new life.
However, the connection between May 1st and lowered inhibitions did not disappear entirely. Jonathan Coulton said that the song First of May was derived from an older poem containing much of the same ‘dirty’ view as his lyrics. The poem was tracked down and located in Another Almanac of Words at Play by Willard R. Espy. An excerpt of the poem below clearly shows the particular inspiration of the author:
The Prince of Wales saw Lillie in her sweater,
and approved,
He liked the look of Lillie even better
when the sweater
was removed.
Jonathan Coulton isn’t the only musician to praise the first of May in song, either. There is at least two songs that share the same title as JoCo’s tribute to outdoor exhibitionism. The first is an offering from James Taylor. The song is of a similar vein as Jonathan’s romp through nature, though with considerably less colorful language. The second is from the Bee Gees. However, the Bee Gees’ composition is a love song lamenting about the passage of time and does not deal with the sexual innuendo, explicit or subtle, that the other two songs delve in.
With all that information floating around in your brain now, what do you intend to do on May 1st? Be it rummaging through garage sales, fishing for trout, or participating in more ‘basic’ extracurricular activities, try to make your day a fun one.
I know I will.
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