| Where: | Oxford - Magdalen College Tower |
| When: | May 1 |
| Time: | 6am |
Each May Day morning the choir of Magdalen College climb to the top of the tower to sing a Te Deum to the assembled crowd below. Expect bellringing, entertainers and morris dancing to welcome in the month of May. The origins of the custom are believed to lie in festivities of 1509 to celebrate the completion of the magnificent tower and it is a firm fixture in the Oxford calendar; the festivities continue throughout the morning with merrymaking at several locations around the city- just follow the music.
Helpful Hints
Expect large crowds (literally thousands of people are likely to be there so allow plenty of time). There used to be a similar custom at Southampton’s Bargate each May 1 (see separate article) which has now lapsed.
Click here for the college website : http://www.magd.ox.ac.uk/
I saw this for the first time this year. Aparently the pubs in Oxford are open until 5 am on May Eve, allowing anyone who wants to drink throughout the night. Add students in impeccable formal dress who have come straight from the May balls, and you get a crowd including families, revellers who have revelled too well swinging off lamposts, ethereal singing, people with blossoms tucked behind their ears, peeling church bells, and morris men. The spectators are as interesting as the event.