What is a maypole?
A maypole is a tall wooden pole decorated with ribbons and flowers, around which people dance on May Day to celebrate the arrival of spring. Maypole dancing is a traditional custom in English villages.
May Day celebrations date back to ancient spring festivals. In medieval England, villages set up maypoles on the village green, and people danced and feasted.
During the 1600s, Puritans banned maypoles as pagan and immoral. They were restored after King Charles II came to the throne in 1660.
The ribbon dance
The ribbon dance, in which dancers hold colored ribbons attached to the top of the pole and weave in and out to create patterns, became popular in the Victorian era.
Children often perform maypole dances at school fairs and village fetes. The May Queen, a girl chosen to lead the celebrations, may be crowned.
Some English villages have permanent maypoles. Barwick-in-Elmet in Yorkshire claims one of the tallest maypoles in England.
The first Monday in May is a bank holiday in England, known as the Early May bank holiday. May Day celebrations often include Morris dancing, fairs and music.