To think that it would be nice if stuff like maypole dancing were done more but that 'wokeness' is probably not the reason that it's done less now?

[Jane3212]

On Facebook today a post popped up about traditional stuff like maypole dancing that's done less now. The person who wrote the post blamed this on 'wokeness erasing English customs'.

Is 'wokeness' really the reason maypole dancing isn't done as much? I think things like that are nice but I'm not convinced 'wokeness' was the reason they've somewhat faded. Overstretched teachers & schools could be one. It's fair to note also that maypole dancing was never something my mother (born 1960s) or grandmother (born 1930s) experienced, probably as they grew up in London.

AIBU?

@Neverstopwondering it is a lot of fun you are right! If you do it every week for several years you get really good at it.

It isn't done in school because teachers don't have time for that as well as everything else.

YANBU. There is absolutely nothing stopping anyone from hosting a Mayday.

What they mean is they want someone else to go to all the tedious effort so they can enjoy ‘their’ traditions, and if nobody else does, they’ll blame ‘wokeness’.

LOL

I did maypole dancing in my Jewish primary school in 70s London, and my dc did maypole dancing in their very ordinary primary schools in 21st century Home Counties. There is maypole dancing at many of our summer fairs, whether town, village or school. I expect that many posters have not been as lucky, and therefore think it has died a death.

Teaching maypole dancing requires four things: a pole, some knowledge to teach it, some musical ability to teach it, and TIME (or BUDGET to hire the first three things). It is a shame that part of England's cultural heritage is being lost, especially one that can be enjoyed by everyone without erasing other cultural heritages that they bring. Maypole dancing is not boring. It's simple enough that a class of Y2 children can learn one or two basic patterns in one session, and complex enough that the children can get a real sense of achievement.

Ultimately, most folk traditions are connected to the land, the changing seasons, and the ebb and flow of traditional occupations such as farming and fishing. It’s unsurprising that in a highly industrialised nation, where few have any connection to nature anymore, these traditions die out.

Those who try and preserve these older connections to the world around them are often condemned as out of touch. Personally I would much prefer to take my guitar into the greenwood and write a song than go to a shopping mall but accept that I’m in the minority.

This is true. The reaction is usually get when I tell people what I do is laughter and piss taking.

Yep, our town used to hold a morris festival. The number of drunken idiot hecklers was awful.

I absolutely loved doing it at school. I wish it was still around

No, the south east. It's even rarer here as we dont have it as a tradition as we didn't have the trades that wore clogs.

We did maypole dancing in infant school in the 1980’s.

Maypole dancing is done every year at Bournville in Birmingham. The kids practice for months ahead, it’s great

Have you ever lived if you've not got yourself totally tangled while doing the double plait round a maypole?!

Were you at a village school too? It wasn't anything that primary schools in my hometown did, but I went to a nearby village school from aged 9 where they did that kind of thing!

I’m sure there used to be a Brownie badge for country dancing. Maybe i imagined it.

It was so much fun as a kid in the 70's dancing around a maypole. I'm grateful for it!

There was in the 90s. Not sure about these days

There are two villages near me with maypoles on the village green, and the local schoolchildren take part in maypole dancing on May Day. It isn't really the sort of thing that migrated into big towns or cities, is it?

I did maypole dancing as a child in the 70s, and I've just looked up my old primary school.

They still have a May fair, a May Queen procession, and May dancing. No actual maypole, probably a bit impractical as schools are bigger now and you would need several.

My dcs school did none of this but it clearly does still happen.

I maypole danced at my first primary school (rural, Midlands, 90s). I absolutely loved it. We practiced for ages in the run up to the May fair. I think we were taught by the headmistress who was probably in her 60s then. I imagine its dying out because of lack of time, money and knowledge.

DH and I went to a wedding last year in the same part of the country and they had a Morris dancing troupe perform. It was great. Guests from non white and non British backgrounds were fascinated - it seemed exotic to them.

What was actually nice was that the venue seemed to be at the centre of a pretty thriving folk scene: crafts, music, dance. I think there's actually a lot of interest from young people because its a way to have an English identity/traditions that isn't flags and Rule Britannia. So folk is maybe woke now?

I’ve seen Maypole dancing at my Gdcs’ school - the reception children did a display.

I think it’s still very much a village thing but has probably died out a bit since the 90s…I loved Mayday festival and like previous posters have said it was a highlight of my primary school memories. I could imagine many primary schools now would struggle with the organisation/ time/expertise etc unless it was an established village/parish council initiative.

Exactly. I would imagine the number of people complaining on social media about maypole dancing dying out who have ever actually done maypole dancing is zero.

I did it as as a school child in the 80s... and yeah, i think its sad these traditions aren't being remembered 😕

Our school does is it every year. Kids love it. Parents watch & eat cake.

Apropos of nothing, I remember once reading an article about Irish set dancing.
It was titled 'The joy of sets'.

We did it. And we got our lovely teacher tied up in the ropes! She forgave us, but that was just before stupid things like Ofsted happened (I think-as in late eighties/early nineties(, and schools were still calm and happy. I don't know if they'd dare to do things now.
Whether you'd call that woke, I'm not sure. To me, woke means being alert to injustice, so I'd call schools my kids go to less woke than when I was at school. And I don't blame their amazing teachers-I'm grateful to them, and bet they wish they could do more stuff like my teachers did.