So today, crash course on a tradition I absolutely love in Germany: the celebration of the first of May.
Here like in a lot of countries, it is a day off, but we have so many of them, it is not that special. No, what I really love here is that on the first of may you have the Maibaum tradition.
In most regions, a “Maibaum”, or Maypole, is built for the 1st of May to celebrate the 1st of May and the arrival of the midsummer. It is a long wooden pole which is going to be set up in a visible place of each village. Here in Bavaria, it is always painted in blue and white, the colours of the Land of Bavaria but of course, you knew that.
The preparation of the Maibaum is a pretty fun ritual and it is done by the villagers, especially the youth. They cut it, shape it, and decorate it. Maibaum are often decorated with long coloured ribbons, with flowers, drapes or wreath hanging or any regional attritubute / decoration.
When it is ready, just before the first of May, during the night of the 30th of April, the young men of the village have to guard it and keep a night watch. Indeed, it is also tradition that the neighbour villages (the youth) steal from each other their Maibaum. This night is called “Walpurgisnacht” or “Freinacht”. They try to steal because villages are “in competition” to know which one will have the highest Maypole or the most beautiful and mostly because it is a lot of fun trying to do that. It the Maibaum is indeed stolen, the villagers will get in back on the morning of the 1st of May against a “Brotzeit” (snack meal of bread, cold cuts, cheese, etc) and some beer (what else?).
The set up of the pole itself is a really big thing, pretty exhausting, and the higher the pole, the more difficult the set up. The custom is that everything has to be done manually (from the cut to the set up), this is why most men of the village need to participate.
Here two pictures from the town Fuerstenfeldbruck:
Here like in a lot of countries, it is a day off, but we have so many of them, it is not that special. No, what I really love here is that on the first of may you have the Maibaum tradition.
In most regions, a “Maibaum”, or Maypole, is built for the 1st of May to celebrate the 1st of May and the arrival of the midsummer. It is a long wooden pole which is going to be set up in a visible place of each village. Here in Bavaria, it is always painted in blue and white, the colours of the Land of Bavaria but of course, you knew that.
The preparation of the Maibaum is a pretty fun ritual and it is done by the villagers, especially the youth. They cut it, shape it, and decorate it. Maibaum are often decorated with long coloured ribbons, with flowers, drapes or wreath hanging or any regional attritubute / decoration.
When it is ready, just before the first of May, during the night of the 30th of April, the young men of the village have to guard it and keep a night watch. Indeed, it is also tradition that the neighbour villages (the youth) steal from each other their Maibaum. This night is called “Walpurgisnacht” or “Freinacht”. They try to steal because villages are “in competition” to know which one will have the highest Maypole or the most beautiful and mostly because it is a lot of fun trying to do that. It the Maibaum is indeed stolen, the villagers will get in back on the morning of the 1st of May against a “Brotzeit” (snack meal of bread, cold cuts, cheese, etc) and some beer (what else?).
The set up of the pole itself is a really big thing, pretty exhausting, and the higher the pole, the more difficult the set up. The custom is that everything has to be done manually (from the cut to the set up), this is why most men of the village need to participate.
Here two pictures from the town Fuerstenfeldbruck:
On the first of May, once the Maibaum has finally been set up, one celebrates the “Tanz in den Mai” and dance around the Maibaum to celebrate. It is a huge celebration and a very community-oriented one, which I think is the best part of this tradition at all. The Maibaum is supposed to symbolise the belonging to the community and its harmony thanks to the teamwork necessary.
After the first of May, the Maibaum often stays for several months at its place, sometimes until the next year or even up to five years.
To me, these blue and white May poles really belong to the Bavarian landscape. They are one more little thing that makes Bavaria so special to me somehow.
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