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May Day Festivals in America, 1830 to the Present

Allison Thompson

ISBN 978-0-7864-3915-7
52 photos, notes, bibliography, index
280pp. hardcover (7 x 10) 2009

Available for immediate shipment

Description
Starting in the early 1830s, American girls and women began to hold Old English May Day festivals, complete with maypole dances, the crowning of a May Queen, and romantic plays and pageants. These festivals accelerated in popularity after 1900 at colleges and universities across the country. An important part of the traditional college experience for many women, the celebrations played a surprisingly influential role in the Progressive reform movement.

This thorough history examines the creation and development of the traditional American May Day festival. It also provides an overview of May Day celebrations at 80 specific college and universities, eight of which continue to celebrate the festival annually.

About the Author
Allison Thompson is a writer, dance historian, and folk dance leader and musician. She is proud to have been the student dance leader for the Elizabethan May Day festival held at Earlham College in 1977, where she taught the maypole dance and other folk dances to fellow participants. She lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Reviews

"a model of organization and scholarship, with each well-researched chapter building on the previous to paint a clear and logical portrait of May Day celebrations...fascinating insights...well-researched and well-written, packed with information and illustrations...you must read this book"--Society of Folk Dance Historians