Weather and Folk Lore of Peterborough and District | Page 4

a sprout, but it's well spread out
By the work of our Lord's hands.
Chorus--To the green woods, etc.
III.
The Cuckoo sings in April,
The Cuckoo sings in May,
The Cuckoo
sings in June;
In July she flies away.
Chorus--To the green woods, etc.
IV.
I'm very glad the Spring has come,
The sun shines out so bright;

The little birds upon the trees
Are singing for delight.
Chorus--To the green woods, etc.
V.
The roads are very dusty,
Our shoes are very thin;
We have a little
money box
To put our money in.
Chorus--To the green woods, etc.

The Garlands are carried round on 1st May and on Old May Day.
The Huntingdonshire Garlands are usually of a pryamidical form of
flowers and streamers, surmounted by a doll.
The frontispiece of May garland at Glatton is a copy of a water colour
drawing by the Rev. E. Bradley (Cuthbert Bede) when living there in
1856.
In the earlier part of the last century it was the custom for a young man
to get as large a branch as possible of May in flower on May 1st and fix
it to his sweetheart's window. If the shutters were closed it was thrust
through the diamond, oval, round, or heartshaped openings at the top of
the shutters. The larger the branch and the more the blossoms the
greater the compliment. If a quarrel had taken place, and peace not
made, then the angry swain would fix a branch of blackthorn in the
place which otherwise should have held the May blossom.
In the country if the servant maids had not pleased the farm boys they
used to get a branch of the crab apple and put it in the girl's window.
MAY DAY.
A branch of May I have brought you,
And at your door it stands;

Well set out, and well spread about
By the work of our Lord's hands.

Take a Bible in your hands,
And read a chapter through;
And
when the day of Judgement comes,
God will remember you,
God
bless ye all both great and small,
And I wish you a merry May.
Another variation is:--
Arise! Arise! ye dairy maids,
Shake off your drowsy dreams,
Step
straightway to your dairies
And fetch us a bowl of cream,
If not a
bowl of your sweet cream,
A pot of your brown beer;
And if we
should tarry in this town,
We'll come again next year.
When Caster Common Lands were open to all and the gates taken off

on May 13th, there was a struggle with the cottagers as to whose cow
would get through the gateway first and the cow which secured the
place of honour had a garland of flowers put round its horns when
driven home at night, and the cow which was last to get on the
Common returned with a "Dish Clout" tied to its tail.
Sunny May.
Cold May, good for corn and Hay.
Rain in May, makes plenty of Hay.
A May flood never did good.
The last two appear to be contradictory but the flood refers to the valley
of the Nene and the lowlands which are apt to be flooded when the
river overflows its banks. The mud and dirt consequently settle on the
grass and make it unfit for hay, but the rainfall does good, causes the
grass to grow and it is not injured by the silt.
Till May goes out, change not a clout.
29th May, Restoration Day, commonly called Oak Apple Day from an
oak apple with oak leaves being generally worn on that day until noon.
The leaves or apple at that time were put out of sight. Before noon
everyone was challenged to "show your oak" and if none could be seen
a blow or a pinch could be given, but after that hour the wearer of the
oak could be struck. School boys used to fix leaves on the top of their
boots, hidden by their trousers, and when challenged would lift their
foot and kick the challenger, and so showing their oak and punishing
the other boy.
When you hear the cuckoo for the first time you must run or you will
be late for everything during the year.
WHIT SUNDAY.
In South Northamptonshire it is said:--

"Whatsoever one did ask of God upon Whit Sunday Morning, at the
instant when the sun arose and played, God would grant him."
Turn your money in your pocket the first time you hear the cuckoo.
Count the number of times the cuckoo calls when you hear it for the
first time and, as many times as it calls, so many years will it be before
you are married.
If a maid hears a cuckoo on the first of May, and takes off her left shoe,
she will find inside a hair the colour of her future husband's hair. Girls
used to get up early on May morning and