* By ELMO SCOTT WATSON MERICA may be “melting pot of the na- tions,” but there is one day in the year, at least. when she offers striking evidence that she is the daughter of Old England and that the descendants 7 of the founders of the na- tion, despite the infiltration of other racial strains during the centuries in which the nation was building, are still conscious of their English an- cestry. That day is the first of May. To some people who live in America but who have not yet been trans- formed into Americans by the al- chemy of meiting pot, May 1 means & day for protest against the prevailing order of things, called “radical” activities, for for an “uprising” somehow never geems to come For Ameri means another semi-annual rangements from old fire sides to new, known as “Moving day.” But te millions of young in our schools and eolleg TOR, festival day, » time of merrymaking, of And as they, gaily and out with the tached to the top on level they of “bringing in the back In an unbroken Elizabethan days In Merrie In that respect, May unique. Few, if any, of the holidas which we celebrate are observed manner so resembling ancient observance is this one. It is one of the popular customs of the long ago which persists after others have long since passed away The month of May is named for Maia, the Roman goddess of fertility. Maia was the personification of spring and was thought to have every soming wild flower and shrub under her special care and protection. he Romans engaged in floral games during the first week of May. So the May day eelebration of a later period had its roots in the rites orig- fnally offered in hovor of the god- dess Main. But it was another No- man festival which brought to May day the character of the ceremonies which made it distinctive. This was the Floralia, held in honor of Flora, the goddess of flowers, when theme were gay costumes, dramatic perform- ances and dances. When Christianity began to prevail over Europe, certain pagan customs were retained in a modified form and among these was the May day celebration. In medieval times It became an important festival and all classes of people, old and young, participated in it. Among the Russians there was a spring festival celebrated by the boys and girls with af choral dance called “Khorovod” and In Sweden there was also a May day celebration with a dance, But for some reason reached Its highest development in England and we now think of it as a distinctively English custom. Early in the first morning of May the men and the maids of Old England would set forth singing for the fields and the woods to gather flowering boughs, wayside blossoms and any pretty, fresh green things that might await them. These treasures were used to “May” the doors of the popu- lar houses in the village. It is this custom which survives in the hanging of May baskets by the children of today. However the “Mayere” went into the woods primarily to choose the tallest, stralghtest hawthorne, to eut it down and, with its greenness still freshly fragrant, to bring it into the public square, there to raise it for the center of their long day's festivity. They did it with much ceremony. A writer in the Fifteenth century pays: “They bring home with great veneration; they have twentie or fortie yoake of oxen-—every one hav- ing a sweet nosegale of flowers tied to the tip of his horns, and those oxen draw home the May poale. . . cov ered all over with flowers and hearbes, . , and thus equipped it the the for so- calling which off successfull iy. May 1 kind, the domestic ar- millions of cans disorder of upheaval in and change Ameri May 1 rejoicing and of Weave In tong dressed, long strear of a May; stretch of are perpetuating an old May” which traces line to the Engla pole ere some greenswara, rit o31y custom day Is 1 # closely its as blos. elaborate the festival o8 stroear tie top. Maypole having been raised, ented by a Puritan “And then fell . to leape an y 1 11 lows is res heathen people of their pattern, or raf licatic idols, is is a perf illed by and celebra the wmgan 1 by aucer y » superstition,” was long te and poor alike. (Cl! “Fourth most and lest, the rich writes both court, * flow. in his savs “In man, except into the wool with sweel flow. the mon impedim sweele every would walk meadows and there to the beauty greeqe rejoice their spirits and savour of ers As already ind were « icnted, these May. pole affairs bnoxious to the Purit To them the revelers were only hea So the May day servances forbidden by pariia- ment in 1644, but same into favor once more at Restoration. ans. thens, ob- were A Maypole once set up might re main for many years and annually be made the focus of popular amuse- ments. The cities joined in the cele bration just as eagerly as the country folk. Stow, in his “History of Lon- don,” mentions several Maypoles, of which stood at what is now St Mary-le-Strand, a erowded thorough- fare. In his day It was 100 feet high. The last Maypole erected in London was of cedar, 134 feet high. It was set up by 12 British sailors under the personal supervision of James 11, then duke of York and lord high admiral, near the site of the present church of St. Mary's in the Strand. Half a cen- tury later, it was removed to Wan- stead Park in Essex, where it was used by Sir Isane Newton as part of the support of a large telescope which had been presented the Royal society by a French astronomer. Another celebrated Maypole was that from which St. Andrew's Under- shaft in Leadenhall street in London is supposed to have taken its nime, Stow says that it was due to a “high or long shaft or Maypole higher than the steeple (hence undershaft) which used early in the morning of May day ~<the greatest spring festival of Mer. ry England-—to be set up and set with flowers opposite the south door of St. Andrew's.” It was in the Elizabethan days, how. ever, that the May day celebration reached its highest development. What had previously been a simple, spontaneous celebration became one of much pomp and pageantry, If you read Sir Walter Scott's “Kenilworth,” you will learn what a colorful spec tacle it was, “Enter gix young men in leather Jerking; follow on six young malds leading a sleek cow adorned with flowers. Now struts Robin Hood In Lincoln green, accompanied by Little John, Will Scarlet and the others of that famous outlaw band,” writes one cone the pole is Jesters and the buffoo : tracts Now there is a cor with the low bow: a prize of and ribl is given to the winner, a crown of fry to the second.” their horee baid are nery : attention fost laurel hors Finally the morris, or morrice, dane ers | to perform. Th Crow A Puri “They have ir dragons, and come eRe talented them: the together with an end rgeti tan writ thoir hobby ho other er says of res, antiques, their pypers thundering mers, then marth this heathen com pany, their pypers pyping. their stumpes a dancing, their bells ingli their handkerchiefs fluttering about their heads like madde men.” bandie and drum- thing done Th One espe erent ng Morris dancing Is a diff from the ordinary folk by all at the May day who did the morris dances were cially trained for it and were known a8 “the morris men” Fach villa of any pretension had its own troupe The old men took pride in teaching the youngsters the steps between Easter and Whitsuntide each Then on Whit Monday all went about the countryside dancing many a plece of silver for antics, Their fiddler played the morning “to entice ‘em to dance. and off they were with “Green Gas ters” around the pole. The morris men usually had their own fool, times, too, they had in their troupe that old-time burlesque figure, the “man-woman,” who by the fantasy of his costume and the indecency of his conduct was a constant delight to the broad-minded Elizabethan audience, Once the morris men have done their turns the people, whose fete this rightly is, may dance to their hearts’ content. Men and girls dance prettily together, doing the same steps that their fathers and mothers did before them, The humblest of the village folk had a share in the day's merrymaking. The chimney sweeps had their own quaint dance to do. May day is the sweeps’ holiday. They appear dressed in fantastic costumes, a little legend of the sweeps’ dance is that once a great lady lost her baby boy, and some years later told an old sweep about her misfortune. He replied that his sweep, who was at the moment up her chimney, had been a foundling, and when the boy came down she “knawed'n be a mark or summat on ‘em, and gave clothes and great cheer to all the sweeps in the town on the next May day. danci foles, year out and go their early in Some “Safety” Put First in Some day it may occur to the pow- ers that approve subdivision to ask the seemingly question : “What has been provided to make for the safety of the ne projects obvious people who here?” suburban develop- has made consid : feq- yriter in safety a prime eration and as a result it Is bein phenomenon. a current J, Is w lated spot in # suburb of periodical ithout RAV doubt *t} Americ New York These tures: A 20 houses eacl Broum Dead-end are some series about them, streets giving the only cars to the courts, sidewalks along motor roads, but destri must keep to No pe- pathways gardens. Only and service en- look toward the motor roads so that only per ing to go to automobiles have son to the dren go to school by paths withaut ways, subways ever necessary, The rangement Is fOr motor ans courts or garages und kitchens houses ons wish. any rea- area. Chil- the parkway motor high- provided wher- enter vehicle crossing being of such common sense apparent. It seclusion and safety factors worthy of consideration. —Kansas City an ar provides for the Times, Maryland Plans Lining Roadsides With Trees An extensive tree-planting principal highways of inned by the Marsland partment of forestry, according to F. lef forester. A concerted effort and his beauty program the de. the made by assistants to the Mary- ig to be lesley ob- tain land roads. Not will the forestry depart ment furnish and supervise the plant- ing of roadside but towns and cities of the state the priv. flege of on the forester for improvement in tree plant Mr, out sands greater along only shade trees, have calling slate ing. thoy plans to set trees along Trees for aiming of Mr. Desley free st Isporta- ap tae Applicable to All States Florida has and mm roadways that can be mg more splendid and attractive roadside beautification, such done, or 8 being alities in the state. weciation in Flor. feation, This is lorida extends an its Poo miles les splendid ide all the through already has been done, in as many loc There ig growing apm ida of roadeide beau for | all the world, for as it should be, invitation to ple to come many natural of which is that | and enjoy the state's not 1 1 along here { beauties, he least the ave road with beauty been planted trees and shrubbery, and in many in stances with flowers, all of which adds greatly to Florida's natural attractive ness. — Florida Times-Union, sides Foundation of ¢ Citizenship he solidity, contentment and close family feeling that are found to the greatest degree in owned homes, leave an inevitable slamp the children reared under these desirable condi- tions, They come early into contact with the ideals of home making, of ambition, economy, pride and respon- sibility, which are the very founda- tions of our culture. They reap the moral and physical benefits of light, air and play space and almost invari. ihly make better associations than otherwise would be possible.—Cincin- nati Enquirer. on Good Example to Follow As a result of its recent clean-city sampaign, Sydney, New South Wales, ‘Iaims to be one of the spotless cities n the world. The change from liter- strewn streets to tidy thoroughfares was effected by a city announcement ‘hat after a certain date anyone who and threw even a street car transfer mn the street, would be fined, Officials say that almost antomatically the lit. ier problem ceased to exist. Zoning Regulations There are 754 cities, towns and vli- ages in” the United States which have toning regulations, Of the 08 cities hav. ing populations of more than 100,000, 8 are zoned. Taking the total num. ser, 704, It Is found that 475 have somprehensive ordinances regulating the use, height and area of buildings, A Hick Town A hick town Is a place where the nerchants won't spend money to boost their community unless a stranger sks for it.—Tos Angeles Times, this doctor’s la xative Every family has occasional need but it should Oe a family laxative, form a habit, When breath is bad or tongue coate fails. Only a doctor knows the Dr. Caldwell discovered the rears ago. Dr. Caldwell’s es herbs and pure senna. surely, it relieves a bilious or sluggis is mild. Delicious. Effective, All this famous prescriptio n ready, in b gorite Dr. Caldwell's for a free trial bottle postpaid. Cleanliness, but Hard on Kest of the Outfit Water w h end of the barracks assigned rrel water for ing purposes, happened t in the m bar: On my Connors in the hi I told him that he better, there, very and at ead Was § ba orning and return 1 taking should have S1W a hath Known 1 UCKER, irrel as the water was He said he knew really did need the bath wait any longer, “We'll drink at the VOY SCarce hint, but he and couldn't { the other barrel f the out other end « barracks, COMIN n n that ured me. -—Johin J, Doyle York Telegram, All prog ress is not happiness, CoLbs Cost MonNEY It is estimated thet asulfferer fromeolds loses three days time from work in e year. FORTIFY YOURSELF AGAINST COLDS, Tone up your body with DR. PIERCE’S GOLDEN MEDICAL DISCOVERY All Dealers. Liquid or Tablets. EADACHE? Instead of dangerous heart de. pressants take safe, mild, purely vegetable NATURE'S REMEDY and get rid of the bowel poisons that cause the trouble. Noth. ing like MR for billousness, sick headache and constipation. Acts pleasantly, Never gripes. Mild, safe, purely vegetable At druggists—only 25¢c. Make the test tonight, FEEL LIKE A MILLION, TAKE 8 TO-NIGHT TOMORROW ALRIGHT Belligerent Owl A struggle engineer of has been southern Swed between an owl id the | an electric express tri in i he bird, prob; attracted by the adlights of the Yo. i burst ag cab win Well in aws into the shoul comotive, and it sank its «i of the motorman him with its bill. The engineer could not leave grip on {hic and a fierce battle ensued while the train raced on its way. At last the motor. | man succeeded in strangling the bird, which was an unusually large speci men, ainst one dow broke the glass side, ders and attacked his switch, A torpld liver prevents proper food assimilation. Tone up your liver with Wright's Indian Vegetable Pills. 25¢ | a box. 372 Pearl St, N. XY. Adv. Not Homesick Ann's parents left her at grandmother's when they went last summer. quite contented i her | East | The little girl seemed | for several days; then one evening she wouldn't eat, Her grandmother asked whether she | was homesick, “No.” she answered, “I'm not, but my stomach wants to | go home.” Old-fashioned people now get pho- tograph albums especially made; for | they are too useful to be snubbed | out of existence. ——— of a laxative, One that can't d. Or appetite Gently, but h condition. It druggists keep ig bottles, Or lo, 1. or Need like are im 1 Aspirin as And no headache may all times be prepared. Baye: J 1 4% ple know. Keep the larger size you. at home, cic, headaches, neuralgia, Catihnge Fiants £1 1.060: To nts Wat $i 1 shipment mate plants roeian weed 308 Superior BDuilding, SPARK PIG DISTRIR THE D 1117 DFEIL-MAR-VA " Federal-harg Rain Face, One Bourbon Poultry for each ch uiates appetite intes bowels, chance of disease infect) for 25 Loar Sonali pint gle Bowbon Remedy Co, Bex 7, HAVE Ohio, HTORS ¢ ¢ ve FARMS, Maryliond Medicines Drop Medicine regy Iosseny on. On market half pint Fi Lexington, Ny. - soft, smooth, clear, youth. Sulphur purifies, clears and lw the skin. For beautifying the face and arms use Glenn’ Bobiond's $type Cetisa ox Ungallant There of the female sex, chronic rush of Dean Inge words to nearly all the mouth First dose soothes in. Ath, Bo Relief GUAR. ai€ At all ud Sith oo ay,
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers