May Day 1928
The tradition of May Day on campus is one with a long history, dating all the way back to 1917. It was widely used as a celebration of life being breathed into the sleeping world. In Newberg, May Day was seen as a “symbol of peaceful beauty and the reawakening of life in nature.” Various activities took place during the May Day celebration. The last activity and perhaps the most important was the winding of the maypole. The winding of the maypole was often the pivotal activity and was most often associated with this tradition.
Unfortunately, this long-standing tradition met its end in the 1980s when George Fox shifted to a semester system, which caused the classes to end in April. As there would be increasingly few students on campus at this time, the celebration of May Day has halted on the George Fox University campus.
FUN FACTS ABOUT MAY DAY:
- The May Day celebration originally had accompanied events such as an archery contest, tennis matches, a parade, a baseball game against a rival school, a dramatic play, the coronation of the Queen of May Day, and the winding of the maypole.
- Many different countries celebrated May Day. In the east, it was a “show of arms” for the strength of communism on “the other side of the iron curtain.”
- Many photos from the May Day celebrations that took place on the George Fox campus can be found and viewed through the archives.
- Brougher museum, the museum of George Fox University, has one of the dresses that the May Day Queen wore during the celebration. The dress has been preserved since it’s donation, unfortunately, before being donated to the museum it was not preserved properly causing some damage to the gown.