(cont)
Traditional May Day is a solar festival, celebrated on May fifth, halfway between spring equinox and summer solstice. In England, Queen of the May, Maid Marian, mounted on a white horse is the central figure in the May Day mumming. In ancient times, she would pair off with Merddin as her consort. Nowadays, Merddin is the bearded old wizard, Merlin, and Marian's consort is Robin Hood.
Robert Graves identifies Maid Marian as the sea Goddess Marian, a virgin dressed in a blue robe, wearing a string of pearls. Occasionally referred to as Merrymaid, but more commonly known as Mermaid, she was worshipped by merriners, (now spelled mariners) who would sacrifice to her. "Mer" meaning sea, is the origin of the epithet Merry England, --Rose in the Sea.
Like the Goddess, Maid Marian is surrounded with Merry men. Little John, Will Scarlet, Friar Tuck, Robin Hood, and others form a band of thirteen. Morris Men, who perform a stylized folk dance are commonly believed to have been imported from the near east, Moors who danced a Moorish dance. However, a more ancient spelling indicates that these may have been Mari's men. Mari, the Mother Goddess, fruitful, and compassionate, is usually portrayed holding an apple from the Tree of Life. She turns the Wheel of heaven, and is the mother of the Archer of Love.
Iris is also known as the mother of Love. She was the Goddess of the rainbow, which was the bridge between heaven and earth. In Greek mythology, she lured mourning Demeter, the grain Goddess, out of her cave so that the land would become fruitful again. In Genesis, angered by Yahweh's Flood, she removed the bridge from earth to heaven so he could not receive his sacrifices. When he promised to never flood the earth again, Iris replaced the rainbow.
In Japan, Iris's rainbow bridge is called the road of the gods. May is Iris month, with Boy's Doll Day celebrated on May fifth. Young men drink Iris tea and bath in an Iris infusion to promote health and fertility. Because of the sword shaped leaf and the blossom that resembles female genitalia, the Iris is the symbol of the male and female principles united.
Celebrated for thousands of years throughout diverse cultures, Mayday could be the most ancient religious festival in the Northern Hemisphere. Ritual human sacrifice to a death/fertility goddess was certainly practiced until the 1st Century BCE. As nature became less fearsome, and more cultivated, the nature goddess became less powerful and bloodthirsty. Today, we still celebrate the remnants of an ancient religion, Nature turning on the Wheel of Heaven."
Please respect our pagan beliefs, as we pagans try to show respect to yours. [:D]