Jim O’Brien: Let’s delight in the darling buds of May and the new season of plenty
In the days before fridges and preservatives, the flowers of May would have been welcomed with great joy, signalling the promise of fresh food for the first time in months
The Maypole celebrated the rising fertility of the land and the coming season of growth. Photo: Stock/Getty
At this end of the hemisphere, the month of May is possibly the most delightful time of the year.
You can imagine how our forefathers and foremothers revelled in these days as they turned their faces to the warming sun, sank their hands into the warming earth, and had their hearts lifted by the burst of colour in flower, hedgerow and bush that dispelled the grey of the winter. “You’re as welcome as the flowers in May” was a greeting much favoured by my father and grandfather.
