Happy May Day!

It’s the dawn of day after Walpurgisnacht, traditionally the night when spirits roam in anticipation of Spring: we’re supposed to rise on this enchanted day and celebrate.  I’m happy to join the party, though I don’t attach any supernatural significance to the occasion. I’d love to bump into a roaming spirit or two, on Walpurgisnacht or any other time. They must be too subtle and ephemeral for my crude notice.  In fact, my own thoroughly naturalized spirit always roams in anticipation of Spring, dawn’s  seasonal equivalent. You don’t need “real” magic to be enchanted. Jennifer Michael Hecht writes cleverly about this in The Happiness Myth:

In the past, people believed that participation in the ritual or the parade actually kept the community safe, magically. We don’t have magic nowadays, but the belief is no less true…  There are only a few pragmatic routes to happiness, and celebration is one of them. Get out there.

We should snatch every festive occasion to waken ourselves to a new day and welcome a new season of possibility, to let our spirits roam.  Seize the life.  Carpe vitam.  Happy May Day, it’s  Spring at last!

Tags: happiness, Jennifer Michael Hecht, May Day, Spring, Walpurgisnacht