差分

また、前日の夜には「メイ・イブ（'''May Eve'''）」と呼ばれるお祭りが行われることもあります。伝統では野草や緑の枝を集め、花輪を編み、メイクイーン（May ）」と呼ばれるお祭りが行われることもある。伝統では野草や緑の枝を集め、花輪を編み、メイクイーン（May Queen）を戴き（男性の伴侶を伴うこともある）、メイポール、メイツリー、メイブッシュ<ref group="私注">これらは冬の象徴である植物神で、倒されねばならないものであるように感じる。</ref>を設置し、その周りで人々が踊るという伝統的なものである<ref>May Day, https://www.britannica.com/topic/May-Day-European-seasonal-holiday, July 26, 2016, Encyclopaedia Britannica|pub, Encyclopaedia Britannica, inc., The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</ref>。また、地域によっては焚き火（Bonfire）をするところもある。地域的な多様性と関連する伝統には、中央・北ヨーロッパのワルプルギスの夜（Walpurgis Night）<ref name="Melton"/>、ゲール語の祭礼ベルタン（Beltane）<ref name="Hutton Beltane">Hutton Ronald, Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain, 1996, Oxford University Press, isbn:978-0-19-820570-8, pages218–225</ref>、ウェールズの祭礼カランマイ（Calan Mai）<ref name="Hutton Beltane"/>、聖母マリアへの5月の帰依（[May 、聖母マリアへの5月の帰依（May devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary）が含まれる。また、古代ローマの祭り「フロラリア（Floralia）」とも関係がある<ref>Joshua Essaka, The Romantics and the May Day Tradition, 2016, Routledge, page16</ref>。

== Origins and celebrations ==The earliest known May celebrations appeared with the [[Floralia|''Floralia'', festival of Flora]], the Roman goddess of flowers, held from 27 April – 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.<ref>Pearse, R. [https://www.roger-pearse.com/weblog/2012/07/02/the-festival-of-the-maiuma-at-antioch/ The festival of the Maiuma at Antioch]. July 2, 2012. Accessed 2009-Apr-09 at https://www.roger-pearse.com/weblog/2012/07/02/the-festival-of-the-maiuma-at-antioch/</ref> The Floralia opened with theatrical performances. In the Floralia, [[Ovid]] says that [[hare]]s and [[goat]]s were released as part of the festivities. [[Persius]] writes that crowds were pelted with [[vetch]]es, [[bean]]s, and [[lupin]]s. A ritual called the ''Florifertum'' was performed on either 27 April or 3 May,<ref>Scullard, ''Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic'', p. 249.</ref><ref>[[Sextus Pompeius Festus|Festus]], 298 in the edition of Lindsay.</ref> during which a bundle of wheat ears was carried into a shrine, though it is not clear if this devotion was made to Flora or [[Ceres (mythology)|Ceres]].<ref>P.Wissowa, ''Religion und Kultus der Römer'', 1912, München ; H.Le Bonniec, ''Le culte de Cérès à Rome des origines à la fin de la République'', 1958, Paris; Kurt Latte, ''Römische Religionsgeschichte'' , 1960, Leipzig; P.Pouthier, ''Ops et la conception divine de l’abondance dans la religion romaine jusqu’à la mort d’Auguste'', BEFAR 242, 1981, Rome.</ref><ref>Kurt Latte, ''Römische Religionsgeschichte'' , 1960, Leipzig.</ref> Floralia concluded with [[Roman Empire#Recreation and spectacles|competitive events and spectacles]], and a sacrifice to Flora.<ref>Scullard, ''Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic'', p. 110.</ref> Maiouma was celebrated at least as early as the 2nd century AD, when records show expenses for the month-long festival were appropriated by Emperor [[Commodus]].<ref name=Antiochopedia/> According to the 6th-century chronicles of [[John Malalas]], the Maiouma was a "nocturnal dramatic festival, held every three years and known as Orgies, that is, the Mysteries of [[Dionysus]] and [[Aphrodite]]" and that it was "known as the Maioumas because it is celebrated in the month of May-Artemisios". During this time, enough money was set aside by the government for torches, lights, and other expenses to cover a thirty-day festival of "all-night revels."<ref>Malalas, Chronicle 284-285</ref> The Maiouma was celebrated with splendorous banquets and offerings. Its reputation for licentiousness caused it to be suppressed during the reign of Emperor [[Constantine the Great|Constantine]], though a less debauched version of it was briefly restored during the reigns of [[Arcadius]] and [[Honorius (emperor)|Honorius]], only to be suppressed again during the same period.<ref name="Antiochopedia">Christopher Ecclestone. 2009. [http://libaniusredux.blogspot.com/2009/07/festivals.html Festivals]. Antiochopedia = Musings Upon Ancient Antioch. Accessed 09-Apr-2019.</ref>