Me iz running a competishon up to May 1st, to find best dressed Morris Dancer, If yoo not sure wot dat iz hava Google. It can be real life picture or a virtual one ov yoo waring Morris Dancer clothes. The winner ov da competishon will win a bootiful rainbow necklace made by me muvver. She's a clever old burd. Entry into competishon is a minimum donation ov £5 wich will all go to my charity www.bonniesrainbowbridgefund.org.uk to help wiv pet funerals for owners wot is struggling financially.
Also on 1st May dere will be virtual may pole dancin ware we can all dance round an have a larf and enjoy ourselves. Here's some more info about dat.
and here's da necklace, bootiful innit. Tiz glass rainbow seed beeds wiv glass heart beads an Tibetan silver clasp, an its 23" long.
May Day is almost here, and in Great Britain we celebrate it in lots ov diffrent ways. Beltane is da old Celtic festival, although it not practised much nowadays which is a shame cos it grate fun! Even for us furs!
So me an Muvver fort we'd write sum ov da history ov it down for every fur to read an know wot it all abowt. And me not got much news at da momunt apart from Dora getting back to normal! But I wud like to add here a big hoomungus fankoo to every fur dat helped muvver pay da vets bill for Dora, she'd not budgitted for dat extra expense, and once agen yoo all helped owt. Fankoo my fwends. I loves yoo all heaps and heaps xxx
Muvver lives in Cornwall, wich haz a lot ov myths an magic in it's history, and at Padstow on !st May dey haz da Obby Oss which is a black stallion dancing around da streets, it's a man in a weird black costume really wiv rider (dats da mask on da top) and he dances round and round all day.
This ancient festival has its origins in numerous pockets of Cornish folklore – a pagan fertility ritual, a rousing welcome to summer, a rainmaking frolic, and as a strategy by local townswomen to ward off French sailors in the 14th century.
Whatever its roots, it is a day when locals, young and old, don white outfits fashioned with red or blue neckerchiefs and ribbons, signifying their family allegiance to either the original/old (red) ’Oss or the blue-ribbon/peace (blue) ’Oss, and dance, sing and drink their way through the streets of Padstow that have been decorated with boughs of fresh spring greenery, colourful flags and, of course, a traditional maypole.
The merry month of May
Throughout the day, the town reverberates with the strain of the May Song, a unique call to all Padstonians: “Unite and unite and let us all unite, for summer is a-come in today. And whither we are going we all will unite, in the merry morning of May.” But the stars of the day are the two ’Obby ’Osses – each one consisting of a 6ft-wide wooden hoop draped in black sail cloth and hoisted onto a fearsomely masked local chap – that are let out from their ‘stables’ at set times throughout the day (for the original ’Oss this is the Golden Lion pub on Lanadwell Street and for the peace Oss it’s the Institute on Market Street).
Once released onto the street the ‘Oss prances through the town preceded by an acolyte known as a teaser, who uses a wooden rod topped with a leather pad to tease and dance with the swirling beast. They are followed by a troupe of musicians, singers, drummers and dancers. As the procession meanders through the narrow streets and around Padstow’s harbour, the ’Oss attempts to capture young maidens under its skirt for a blessing of mayday fertility – if you’re caught, it’s believed you will fall pregnant by the following May Day.
Finally, late in the afternoon the ’Osses meet at the maypole and dance together before a mock death ritual at midnight that bids the ‘Osses farewell until resurrection the following May Eve.
Here's a lil video to show yoo wot its like.
And so Obby Oss is da Cornish festival for Spring arriving now me will tell yoo all abowt ovver festivals around da country and wot Beltane is.
So heres me canned history ov Beltane for yoo all:
In the British Isles, Beltane, celebrated on May 1st, is a moon festival that falls midway between the Spring Equinox and Summer Soltice, marking the return of light and summer, the fertility of the land ensured by the mating and hand-fasting of the Great Goddess and her consort. (For many years the Christian church sought to ban May Day festivities because of this "lewd" context as a frank celebration of sexuality and fecundity.) Recorded evidence of Maypole Dancing goes back at least to the 14th century, the texts suggesting the custom was very old even then, although the form of the dance known best today, with decorative children dancing in village squares, owes as much to the romanticism of the Victorians as it does to ancient tradition.
The name "Beltane" derives from Bel, the Celtic god of fire, honored and propitiated with bonfires lit on sacred hills. Smoke from the fire blessed the fields, animals, and community, and maintained the wary, careful balance between the human and faery realms. "Traditionally," writes Glennie Kindred (in Sacred Celebrations), "all fires in the community were put out and a special fire was kindled for Beltane. This was the Teineigen, the 'need fire.' People jumped the fire to purify, cleanse and to bring fertility. Couples jumped the fire together to pledge themselves to each other. Cattle and other animals were driven through the smoke as a protection from disease and to bring fertility. At the end of the evening, the villagers would take some of the Teineigen to start their fires anew."
May Day customs vary across Britain, but are generally less elaborate than in past times, when entire villages were festooned with greenery and flowers: boughs of rowan, birch, and ivy, and May Blossoms (from hawthorn trees). Beltane ceremonies are on the rise again, but in a few places around the country they have never really stopped -- the 'Obby 'Oss festivities in Cornwall being one well-known example.
And dere yoo haz it. Intrestin innit.
So come on Spring ware iz yoo???? We need sunshine an flowers! Obby Obby Obby! Oss Oss Oss! oops sowwy, me got carried away bol
Love
Angel Bonnie
xoxoxoxox
