At the crack of dawn this morning John and I joined the throngs in Oxford to celebrate the arrival of spring at Oxford's May Morning.
If you look closely at this clip, you'll get a glimpse of John standing in the crowd!
May Morning is an annual event in Oxford each May Day – May 1st. It starts early at 6am with the Magdalen College Choir singing a hymn in Latin, the Hymnus Eucharisticus, from the top of Magdalen Tower, just as the sun hits the tower.
The tradition of May Morning in Oxford is over 500 years-old!
Large crowds gather under the tower along the High Street and Magdalen Bridge.
The singing is followed by a few hours of general revelry and festivities including Morris dancing, impromptu music, burger bars and fire jugglers, etc.
There is a party atmosphere, despite the early hour. In fact, there are normally all-night balls the night before, so some people (especially students) are dressed in formal attire and have reveled the whole night long.
There is a recent tradition of students jumping from Magdalen Bridge into the Cherwell River after the singing. This is the "no jumping allowed" patrol!
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| Happy May Morning! |
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