Song of the Day - 1st May
It is the 1st of May - the sun is shining, the air is warm. May Day Bank Holiday may not be until Monday but today is May-Day nonetheless. May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the Northern Hemisphere's Spring equinox and Midsummer solstice. The earliest known May celebrations appeared with the Floralia, festival of Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers, held from 27 April to 3 May during the Roman Republic era, and the Maiouma or Maiuma, a festival celebrating Dionysus and Aphrodite held every three years during the month of May. The best known modern May Day traditions, observed both in Europe and North America, include dancing around the maypole and crowning the Queen of May. The poem for today's Song of the Day is called May-Day by English poet John Clare. From Helpston in rural Northamptonshire, John Clare was born in 1793. He is now regarded as the most important poet of the na...