May Morning Festivities

Good Morning Everyone! 

It's now 8:09 am in the UK, and I am "up and at 'em" after a fun May Morning Celebration. Basically May Morning is a big celebration to welcome spring and the time of new life. I know at home spring starts in late March, but usually it's cold here up until May. (We've had amazing weather, though, and all the natives tell us that it's almost never like this here!) 

We woke up this morning at 4:00, and I can't even tell you how much I'm looking forward to a day where I don't have to get up at an abnormal hour to take place in an insane amount of tradition! Maybe tomorrow?

On May Day everyone wakes up early and migrates to Magdalen College (home of Oscar Wilde, Andrew Lloyd Webber, William Tyndale, and C.S. Lewis--he was a fellow here). Once there, they all wait for the clock to strike exactly 6:00 am. 

The crowd as we approached Magdalen

There used to be a tradition of people jumping of Magdalen bridge into the River Cherwell. For the last few years the water levels were so low that people were getting injured, and they had to close the bridge. This year the bridge was open, but they had these signs asking people to not jump. 

Everyone has either gotten up early or stayed up all night celebrating. There were lots of students in their tuxes and ball gowns from College celebrations. As you gather in front of the college the sun rises and everything starts looking new and fresh. It really is a beautiful building! 

Then at exactly 6:00 the choir starts singing. I read online that Magdalen College is one of the few Choral Foundations at Oxford. That means that their choir was set up as part of the statutes of their University. 

The first song they sang was (I think) the Hymnus Eucharisticus, and after that they sang several more songs. Then the choir director (or someone else, I couldn't tell) prayed a really beautiful prayer about springtime. It talked about how in Springtime we see Jesus' victory over death, and it asked a blessing on the city, the University, and all those gathered here, asking that we would see life in the newness of spring. It was awesome! Then the choir sang a few more songs and the bells started ringing. It was short, but beautiful, and I'm so glad I got to see it!

On a funnier note, there was this man standing in front of us in the crowd and he had three poles with three styrofoam heads. He would hold them up over the crowd and turn them around to make it look like they were looking at stuff. None of us could figure it out, and when we asked him about it he didn't give us a direct answer. It was funny...and a little creepy, because he drew eyes on them. Here's a picture: 

Strange.. 

By the end of the ceremony it was almost as tightly packed as the wedding had been. (On a smaller scale, of course!) So we had to fight our way out of the streets. All of the sandwich shops and pubs open early so you can grab breakfast and a drink (if you're so inclined) and get the day started off. We were back at the house before 8, and now I'm getting down to business to read and write for my Tutorials this week. 

Below is a video I took of the choir singing. Let me apologize in advance for the zooming in and out and the random creepy styrofoam heads. But the quality is good enough to hear them--so enjoy!

Love from Oxford,
Sarah