Newspapers / Salem College Student Newspaper / May 2, 1936, edition 1 / Page 3
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Saturday, May 2, 1936. T H E SALEMITE SOME TRADITIONS BEHIND MAY DAY CELEBRATION Page Three. The custom of celebrating the first of May with the gathering of flowers dates back, certainly to the Roman Floralia or Floral Games. There are other ancient May Day celebrations, such as the Druid feasts in honor of Bel and the phallic festivals of In dia and Egypt, but these seem rath er for the purpose of sacrifice, and are in no way connected with flow ers. In England in the sixteenth cen tury it was customary for the mid dle and lower classes to go out at a very early hour of the morning to gather flowers and hawthorn branch es, which they brought home about sunrise, to the accompaniment of music and with great joy and merri ment. By a natural transition of ideas, they gave the hawthorne bloom the name of May; they called the 'ceren^ony “bringing home the May;?’ they spoke of the expedition to the woods as “group a-maying, This lovely custom is seen in these lines from the May Carol, a very old ballad, dating probably from Eliza bethan times, which will be sung in the Salem May Day pageant: “I been a rambling all this night. And sometimes of this day; And now returning back again I 'brought you a branch of May A branch of May I brought you here, And at your door I stand; 'Tis nothing but a sprout but well budded out. By the work of our Lord’s hand.” Not content with a garlanding of their brows, their doors, and their windoiws, these merry people had in everyl'village a fixed pole, “as high as thja mast of a vessel of a hun dred 'tons,”i 6n which each May momipg they suspended wreaths of flowers, Md round which they danceji almost jthe whole day. The May-^le had its place equally with the parish church or the parish stocky. The Puritans had the May poles uprooted, but after the Res toration they were re-erected and the appropriate rites re-commenced with great gusto. Thei custom of having a Queen of the May, seems to be a relic of the heathen celebration; this maid ap pears as a living representative of the goddess Flora, whom the Rom ans worshipped on this day. Cham bers in “The Book of Days” say, “Be Jt observed the May Queen did not join in the revelries of her sub jects. I She was placed in a sort of bower or arbour, near the May-pole, there :to sit in pretty state, an ob ject olf admiration to the whole vil lage -i- It must have been rather a dull office, but doubtless to the fe male heart had its compensations.” SALEM COLLEGE MAY COURT 1 compose the May Day Court of Salem College. Top row: Misses Cordelia Lowry Bedf^d, Va.; Marjorie Robinson and Jean Robinson, Lowell; Helen Jones, Payetteville- Julia Pres Ou^e^"r^f‘,r’p- Phyllis ciappf Ston-S^X Rane^ Salisbury, maid-of-honor; Etta Burt Warren, Tre»ton. Bottom row: SaraS CHAIRMEN OF COMMITTEES May Day Committees Josephine Reece — Chairman Elizabeth Torrence Vice-Chainnan Finance Committee Mary Coleman Henderson — Chairman Pageant Committee Jane Rondthaler — Chairman Flower Committee Marion Mitchell — Chairman Dance Commifttee Eloise Sample and Margaret Sears — Chairmen Ushers and Ftogran Committee Martha Schlegel — Chairman Property Committee Eleanor Watkins — Chairman Costomes Committee Jane Crow — Chairman Dress Committee Cordelia Lowry — i Chairman Publicity Committee Josephine Whitehead — Chairman Tea Soom Committee Prances Meadows — Chairman Music Committee Mary Frances Hayworth — Chairman HOW THE PAGEANT WAS WRITTEN It was evident that a pageant had to be found, written, or borrowed be fore the music for the May Day fete could be chosen, the dances worked out, and the very foundation laid for, the May Day program of 1936. Josephine Rece therefore, be ing the Chairman of May Day, be gan to consider variovs. ideas which might be used as a b^sis for the pag* eant. Anna Wray Fogle, and Nancy Schallert helped her to write one of these which was particularly good, and tO'it .added ideas and suggestions of their own. The result of this was turned over to the Pageant Commit tee headed by Jane Rondthaler who, with this group did most of the writ' ing of the pageant which is being presented this year. To Josephine Reece goes the credit for the original idea, and to the Pageant Committee credit for writ- ing up this program in a most inter esting way. WHERE THE “WHERE WITHAL'^ FOR MAY DAY COMES FROM Let’s start back with last Septem ber, or even before that, when we think of finances for May Day. Aft er all, while Ma^ Day is based large ly on beauty, originality, and co operative working, there is, in spite of everything, a need for money in connection with the festival. If one thinks of all the time and energy that has been spent in accumulating funds, May Day takes on more sig nificance, and stands out—not as t^B events of an hour or so — but as the very peak of a structure of many months’ work. Frankie Meadows and Kea Council could tell you of many an hour spent in making sandwiches down in ‘ ‘ The Wee Blue Inn,” and Jo Reece reports that they have been quite successfal this year. As a student ran dowm to “The Wee Blue” in between Math problems to get a sandwich and a dope, she perhaps never even gave May Day a thought — most prob ably she didn’t, but each time she contributed something to this event. Even Frankie, scurrying through the halls collecting bills, might have for gotten May Day herself!! (You oould hardly blame her!) The finance committee of May Day sponsored an art exhibit — most of the faculty members contributed some of their artistic triumphs. Re member Miss Ferguson’s drawing of a Medieval Manor — entitled “I traced it, too! ” f Anyone who’d had Freshman history at Salem was much impressed by that picture And Mr. Curlee had everybody in school look ing up the title of his picture in the dictionary! The pictures were auc tioned off after the exhibit, and some brought fabulous prices of a dollar or so. Money from the budget last fall was also added to the fund, and the Costume Committee arranged to rent a good many costumes, which brought in clear profit. Many of the girls in the pageant and in the dances this afternoon have spent much time in helping to finance May pay, ^ni' w hiaVe some of those beautiful iadi^ iii lie cbrirt. This ittforniatii>n should not de? tract ftbm lihe beauty of May Day; instead,'if should help-each member of th& aii'dienoe to realize that the progiram is the result of much earefnl planking. : Coco Henderson, treasurer of the May Day Committeej is also head of the finance:: committee. The mem bers; of. the ^ance committee are: Louise Freen?an, Betty Bahnson, Ag- gie Brown, Mary Hart, Ellen Moore, Helen McArthur and Janie Maliean. - Jones: “Your office sent me a cook last week.” Employment Office Manager: “Yes, that’s right.” au; , Jones: **WeD, it will give me, the greatest pleasure if you will dine with me tonight.” (CX)NTINUED FROM PACE ONE) DANCERS SPIDERS Felicia Martin Alnne Austin Corrine Pate Peggy Rogers V irginia Piper Martha Schlegel Marjorie Powell Annette McNeely Margaret Stafford Eleanor Stafford Helen Smith Meiry Hart MAYPOLE Frances Alexander Bill Fulton Madeline Smith Willena Couch Katherine Bellamy Josephine Ritter Florence Joyner Carlton Thorpe Virginia Bruce Davis Edith Rose Margaret Shackford Covington Cole FLOWERS Frances Salley Mai-garet Loftin Peggy Bowen Charlotte Nelme Elizabeth Torrence Eleanor Ann Ivey SOLDIERS Ethel Watkins, Mary Grier, Mary Daniel, Susaii Caudle, Elizabeth Taylor, Mary Thomas, Louise Frazier EmmaB. Grtotham, Rebecca Brame, Carlotta Washburn, Maiy W. Spence, Mary Lee Sdley. Yir^iil, Fulton,^
Salem College Student Newspaper
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May 2, 1936, edition 1
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