May Day Festivals in America, 1830 to the Present
$29.95
In stock
About the Book
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 is a thorough history that 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(s)
Bibliographic Details
Allison Thompson
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 280
Bibliographic Info: 52 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2013 [2009]
pISBN: 978-0-7864-7722-7
eISBN: 978-1-4766-1302-4
Imprint: McFarland
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments v
Introduction: “I’m to Be Queen of the May, Mother!” 1
Part I: May Day
THE MAKING OF MERRIE MAY DAY
1. Celebrating May Day in England before 1800 15
2. The Making of May Day in Merrie England 23
3. John Ruskin and the Whitelands College May Queen Festival 32
4. Merrie May Day in the New World 38
SETTING THE STAGE FOR PERFORMANCES
5. Physical Education for Girls and Young Women 49
6. “As the Child Plays, So Will the Adult Perform”: Progressive Reformers and the Playground Movement 58
7. The Educational, Hygienic, Civic, and Moral Benefits of Folk Dance 67
8. The Pageant and Festival Movement 75
9. The Urban Child’s May Day 85
THE COLLEGE MAY DAY FESTIVAL
10. The Making of the College Girl of 1900 91
11. Origins of the College May Day Pageant 98
12. The Play’s the Thing—College May Day Pageant Themes 107
13. Corydon in Arcadia—Men and May Day 120
14. Maypole Dances and Drills 129
15. Crowning the College May Queen 139
16. The May Queen Unthroned 148
MAY DAY FESTIVALS OF TODAY
17. May Day as Labor Day, Loyalty Day, Law Day, Child Health Day, and Lei Day 156
18. Celebrating an Old English May Day Today 164
Conclusion: “The Merriest Day of All the Glad New Year!” 177
Part II: The College Festivals
Agnes Scott College 185
Albright College 187
Auburn University 187
Bates College 187
Berea College 188
Bluffton University 189
Brenau University 189
Brown University 190
Bryn Mawr College 190
Bucknell University 191
Carleton College 191
Case Western Reserve University 193
Chatham University 194
Colby College 195
College of Wooster 196
Columbia College 197
Converse College 198
DePauw University 199
Duke University 200
Earlham College 201
Elmira College 202
Goucher College 202
Grinnell College 203
Grove City College 204
Hollins College 206
Hood College 207
Indiana University 208
Iowa State University 209
James Madison University 210
Judson College 210
Kansas State University 211
Kent State University 212
Lebanon Valley College 213
Mary Baldwin College 213
Meredith College 214
Miami University 215
Mills College 215
Mount Holyoke College 217
Muskingum College 218
Newcomb College, Tulane University 219
New Mexico State University 220
Oberlin College 221
Oklahoma State University 222
Oregon State University 222
Pennsylvania State University 222
Randolph College 223
Rockford College 223
Rollins College 225
Russell Sage College (The Sage Colleges) 226
Salem College 226
Scripps College 227
Simmons College 227
Skidmore College 228
Smith College 229
Sweet Briar College 229
Trinity University 230
University of California at Berkeley 231
University of Charleston, West Virginia 231
University of Colorado 231
University of Denver 233
University of Idaho 234
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 234
University of Kansas 235
University of Maryland 235
University of Minnesota 236
University of Missouri 237
University of New Hampshire 237
University of Puget Sound 238
University of Richmond (Westhampton College) 238
University of South Carolina 239
University of Tennessee 239
Ursinus College 239
Valdosta State University 240
Wartburg College 241
Wellesley College 241
Wells College 242
Westminster College 243
Wilson College 244
Winthrop University 246
Chapter Notes 249
Selected Bibliography 261
Index 265
Book Reviews & Awards
“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.
