![[Christine O’Keeffe’s May Day Customs]](../banners/maycus.gif){kind=small}
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![[Girls With Flower Garland - 10k]](../eillus/garland.gif)
May flowers and dew are gathered before the dawn by young people. The men play instruments and sing songs and processions go to the woods. Each person takes a branch from a tree and decorates it with flowers. Flowers are made into garlands. Women wear them on their heads and they are placed on doors and gates. This is called going a Maying. Greenery collected includes: hawthorn, whitethorn, sycamore, birch, or rowan. Blackthorn, elder, sloe, crab-apple, nettle, and thistle garlands are marks of insult. (2, 3)
