GATHERED AT THE MAYPOLE: A Feast of Cultures in Bloom
by Dr. Lucas Root
The spring air warms and the world bursts into color. Poems, art, fill our minds as we wander through the springtime brilliance. Robert Frost’s Nature’s First Green is Gold echoes in my mind. Bird songs fill the air, alongside the scents of the first spring flowers starting to open.
It’s glorious.
Groundhog day is behind us, and Memorial Day is just ahead. The spring, and the transition, opens us up to the possibilities of transformation; internal, and external. We typify this with Spring Cleaning. But there are so many more symbols and stories of the transition from Spring to Summer in most all traditions. Beltane (Celtic), Walpurgis (Germanic), Midsummer (Scandinavia)... And the Maypole.
The Maypole stands at the heart of our thoughts as we’re exploring this meal, this celebration, this transition. The Maypole is a symbol of unity and renewal. This year, our Maypole feast ignites a different kind of fire—the warmth of communal feasting under the open sky. Here, we embrace the diversity of America’s culinary heritage, gathering around the feast to share stories, laughter, and dishes that tell the stories of our melting pot of Cultural Heritage here in the US.
Welcome to a Maypole celebration re-imagined, where the feast’s promise illuminates the faces and food alike, inviting us all to partake in the joy of the season, together.
