May Morning is one of Oxford’s many bizarre traditions. This year, we can’t all gather together in the rain and watch the sunrise, but we can celebrate from our own homes!
What is May Morning?
‘May Morning’ is an annual Oxford tradition marking May Day, an ancient festival of spring celebrated on the 1st May.
In Oxford, the May Morning celebrations typically involve thousands flocking to Magdalen Bridge at 6am to hear Magdalen College Choir sing from the tower. The City is filled with Morris dancers and musicians around every corner, and many local pubs and cafés are open to offer an early breakfast – before we all get back (somewhat tired!) to our usual day.
As is common in Oxford, it can be quite a surreal experience when you encounter for it the first time, especially if you’ve pulled an all-nighter or just stumbled across from Bridge!
You can find out more about the May Morning traditions, and see lots of photos from previous years, on Tim Healey’s website.
Listen to Magdalen College Choir at 6am
The Choir of Magdalen College will not ascend the tower on Friday morning as it would ordinarily have done, but the May Morning tradition thought to stretch back more than five centuries will be presented online instead.
Over the past few weeks, the Choristers and Academical Clerks have been rehearsing and recording their individual parts at home, and at 6am on 1st May, the sum of all their work – a ‘Virtual May Morning’ – will appear on the Choir’s Facebook page as a live event.
The short presentation will feature the College bells, the Choir singing the Hymnus Eucharisticus and the traditional madrigal ‘Now is the month of Maying‘, and a prayer from the Dean of Divinity.
For those who don’t fancy an early start, the video will be available from 7am onwards on the Choir and College’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube accounts. It will also be shared by the University of Oxford and Oxford City Council.
You can see a short video, ‘Making a Virtual May Morning’, which gives a glimpse of how the Choir have been preparing for this.
Daily Info’s Virtual Event
Daily Info is organising a virtual May Morning from 6am through a live video on their Facebook page.
The stream will include Hymnus Eucharistus, Morris dancing, musical performances, a history of May Day, and a May Day singalong.
Horns of Plenty communal sing-song at 8am
One group which will be taking part is street band Horns of Plenty, which can often be found performing during the May Morning celebrations.
At 8am the group will be performing the song ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’ from their doors and windows across the city. They are encouraging members of the public to get involved and join them by singing, playing, or humming along.
