Calan Mai ([ˈkalanˈmai̯] 'first day of May') orCalan Haf ([ˈkalanˈhaːv] 'first day of Summer'), also historically calledCyntefin,[1] is theWelsh celebration ofMay Day (1 May). It marks the beginning of summer and traditionally it involved festivities aroundbonfires,maypoles, andcarol singing. Some of its traditions parallel theGaelic May Day festivalBeltane, and other May Day andWalpurgis Night traditions in Europe.
Traditionally,bonfires (coelcerth) were lit atCalan Mai in parts of Wales. They were lit inGlamorgan until the 1830s. Nine men would gather branches of nine different trees, remove all metal, then light the fire byfriction between wood. A fire kindled in such a way is known as aneed-fire. Sometimes two fires were built side-by-side. Round cakes ofoatmeal and brown-meal were sliced and placed in a bag, and participants each chose one; those who chose a brown-meal slice had to leap three times over flames, or run thrice between the bonfires. This was believed to ensure a goodharvest.[2]Calan Mai bonfires were also recorded inMontgomeryshire.[2] TheScottish Highlands had very similar May Day (Beltane) bonfire customs, and historianRonald Hutton suggests they were all survivals of a tradition that was once more widespread.[2]
Maypoles were traditionally set up forCalan Mai. In Britain, the maypole was found primarily in areas of English influence. However, the earliest account is from a Welsh poem byGryffydd ap Adda ap Dafydd in the mid-14th century, in which he described people making festivities around a tallbirch pole atLlanidloes in Montgomeryshire.[3]
Small groups of young men went about singing Maycarols (carolau Mai) or summer carols (carolau haf) atCalan Mai, and were rewarded with food and drink.[3]
Other traditions:
May Eve (Nos Galan Haf) is considered anYsbrydnos or 'spirit night', when spirits are wandering anddivination is possible.
On May Eve, villagers gatherhawthorn (Welsh:draenen wen, 'white-thorn') branches and flowers which they would then use to decorate the outside of their houses, celebrating new growth andfertility.[citation needed]
InAnglesey andCaernarfonshire it would be common on May Eve to havechwarae gwr gwellt 'playing straw man' orcrogi gwr gwellt 'hanging a straw man'. A man who had lost his sweetheart to another man would make a man out of straw and put it somewhere in the vicinity of where the girl lived. The straw man represented her new sweetheart and had a note pinned to it. Often the situation led to a fight between the two men at the May Fair.[citation needed]
Being the time between Summer and Winter,Calan Haf would be the time to stage a mock fight between the two seasons. The man representing Winter carried a stick ofblackthorn (Welsh:draenen ddu, 'black-thorn') and a shield that had pieces of wool stuck on it to represent snow. The man representing Summer was decorated with garlands of flowers and ribbons and carried awillow-wand which had spring flowers tied on it with ribbons. A mock battle took place in which the forces of Winter threw straw and dry underbrush at the forces of Summer who retaliated withbirch branches, willow (Welsh:helygen) rods, and young ferns (Welsh:rhedyn). Eventually the forces of Summer would win and aMay King and Queen were chosen and crowned, after which there was feasting, dancing, games and drinking until the next morning.[citation needed]
May Day was the time that thetwmpath chwarae or 'tump for playing' (a kind of village green) was officially opened. Through the summer months in some villages the people would gather on thetwmpath chwarae in the evenings to dance and play various sports. The green was usually situated on the top of a hill and a mound was made where the fiddler or harpist sat. Sometimes branches of oak decorated the mound and the people would dance in a circle around it.[citation needed]
Common drinks during Calan Mai festivities fermented honey (mead) sometimes flavoured with herbs or spices (metheglin). Sometimes it was made of herbs, includingwoodruff, a sweet-smelling herb which was often put in wine in times past to make a man merry and act as a tonic for the heart and liver.Elderberry andrhubarb wines were popular as well as various beers.[citation needed]
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