curiously wonder[full]: may day! [a reflection]

waldorf schools, as those of you for whom this is not unfamiliar territory know, celebrate each MAY DAY, the first of the month, with an annual MAY FAIRE-- a beautiful festival centered upon this welcoming of the new season in all of its full blooming glory. the main event revolves around the may pole dance, in which all of the grades participate [either in the intricate and gorgeously choreographed dances themselves or as the musicians from whom the dancers take their rhythm!]at princeton waldorf, if i'm not just falsely remembering this, the teachers also took part in this dancing themselves...i was absolutely and unexpectedly enchanted by the whole scene this year...walking on to the flowering campus, transformed by garlands upon garlands of woven blossoms and leaves and vines of all colors and intoxicating scents...a sea of smiling, almost sprightly people, young and old, clad in soft white clothing, many barefoot, and crowned with flower wreaths...the may pole at the heart of the grassy expanse, its ribbons of white and red and pink billowing in the breeze as they meticulously were wound together by those dancing them into an intricate and stunning pattern while recorders and cellos and violins and drums and voices harmonized....the pictures i've included in this post capture just a touch of the magic of the day, but i hope that it translates...

fifth grade, perhaps my favorite class with whom to work, kept their dignity in spite of the hysterical title of their musical selection "lady hepburn belches"!

here, the second grade adorably, and incredibly successfully[!], dances into an organized weave...

maybe my favorite photo from the whole day...can you think of anything more delicious than dancing barefoot in lush green grass???