Bewitching Traditions & Magical Ways To Celebrate May Eve

Today is May Eve, traditionally a time to celebrate spring and perform rituals for luck and prosperity. We’re celebrating with May Eve traditions along with our own traditional tricks for getting the most out of Stikins ® name labels.

Reasons To Celebrate May Eve

You’ve probably heard of May DAY celebrations but not May EVE celebrations. These celebrations have various origins but share common themes...

• May Eve is an extension of May Day celebrations, celebrating the arrival of spring.
• Beltane celebrations often begin on May Eve; this Gaelic festival celebrates the arrival of summer.
• Nos Galan Mai precedes Calan Mai – the Welsh May Day festival, which celebrates the arrival of summer. It is also an “Ysbrydnos” or spirit night.
• Walpurgis Night is a European celebration of spring and a time to ward off evil demons, spirits, and witches.

May has always been an important time for agricultural communities. It became a time to perform rituals to protect and strengthen livestock, crops, and communities. Boundaries between the natural and supernatural worlds are said to be thinner - leaving supernatural beings free to walk the earth - as on Halloween (or Samhain). This led to the practice of using rituals to drive away or appease these supernatural beings.

Traditional Ways To Celebrate May Eve

Many May Eve traditions share common features, such as fire, flowers, and (fairy beating) liquids.

Bonfires
According to tradition, bonfires have protective powers. Common May Eve traditions have included:

• Driving cattle between two bonfires to give them protection.
• People jumping over bonfires for luck.
• Re-lighting the hearth at home using a torch lit from a bonfire.
• Daubing bonfire ashes (which also have protective powers) over homes, people, crops, livestock, and farming equipment for further protection.

For Walpurgis Night celebrations, people have dressed up as witches and demons and gathered around bonfires. Dancing, loud singing, and fireworks drive away witches, demons, and evil spirits.

Flowers
Flowers are also traditional ways to confer protection. Flower bundles and crosses can be placed in entrances and doorways around the home. They could also be draped over people and livestock. Some would even put garlands around equipment used for milking and butter making to keep dairy products safe from evil influences.

Yellow flowers would be especially popular as their colour symbolises fire or light. Traditional choices include primrose, gorse, rowan, hazel, and marsh marigold. Hawthorn blossom has been especially common. Its name comes from “Hagedorn”, which means hedge thorn. Farmers have planted it at the boundaries of their land to provide protection against witches and fairies, and promote the wellbeing of livestock and crops.

Holy Water & Milk
Sprinkling holy water over land, livestock, crops, homes, and people has also traditionally brought protection. According to other traditions, fairies steal milk and dairy products. Leaving out milk as an offering appeases them, while pouring milk over the threshold prevents them from entering a home.

Top Tips & Tricks To Get The Most Out Of Your Name Labels This May Eve

While they might not protect against evil, our traditional tips and tricks will make sure your name labels just work – all year round!

Confer Longevity By Storing Your Labels Safely!
If you don’t use all your name labels (or want an emergency stash), storing them safely will preserve their original quality for longer. Keep them in the bag provided and store them in a dry place, out of direct sunlight, at a steady room temperature.

Follow The Ritual (Of The Instructions For Use)!
We’ve designed our instructions to ensure your name labels just work so please give them a read!

Apply your labels onto the wash-care label of clothing and fabric items. In footwear, apply them onto the side wall or beneath the tongue. For other items, simply follow the instructions to apply your name labels effectively.

Prepare & Care For Your Labelled Items
Items should be clean and dry before labelling. Wash brand new items of clothing to remove excess dye or preservatives used during manufacture and storage.

Our name labels are designed to work effectively during a normal wash-dry cycle. To make your name labels last longer…

• Avoid washing at more than 40 degrees.
• Follow the guidelines on your cleaning products to make sure you use the correct amount.
• Avoid soaking items in highly concentrated cleaning products, such as bleaching products.
• Avoid ironing directly over your name labels as they will melt.

Order Online For Access To Some Special Offerings!
If your order contains at least three packs of name labels, you’ll automatically get a 10% discount.