Frolicking around in the sun

Why this time of year matters

Today in the UK is a national holiday. Hooray!

Whilst this late May spring holiday is mostly now considered just a ‘long weekend’ and a chance to booze in the sun, it does actually have several older cultural layers.

This time is year is, in essence, the threshold between spring and early summer. It’s a time where we’re crossing from the emergence of one season into the full vitality of another.

Back in the day - when humans lived more in tune with the seasons, particularly in agricultural societies - this meant things like planting being at its most complete, animals grazing in the fields, and daylight nearing its peak. As the days got warmer and longer, communities were holding fairs, having dances and generally frolicking around outside as the energy of summer gained momentum.

In Britain, we do still have echoes that survive from those times - maypole and Morris dancing being two examples. (As a side note: I grew up in a small town in Herefordshire, and we did in fact still do a bit of maypole dancing when I was a kid. We also have a pretty well-known folk festival, and a good friend in our teenage years spent much of it cringing in embarrassment whenever her Dad donned his Morris bells).

If we connect to the five element theory of ancient China, then these ideas align closely with the transition from the wood element of spring to the fire of summer. So whatever part of the world we are in, this time of year is one of a movement from the vision and growth of the first season of the year into the expression, the connection, and the vitality of the second.