Held on 13 May (Old May Day) each year, the Abbotsbury Garland Day celebrations have taken place in the Dorset village of Abbotsbury since about the early 19th century. They were first described in Hutchins' History of Dorset published in 1867. The custom involves the making of garlands by the children of the village. Originally only the children of local fishermen took part. The garlands were blessed in a church service and some were then rowed out to sea to be tossed into the water, a donation to the local sea god. This marked the opening of the fishing season, and then the children whould dance and play games on the beach to celebrate. From around the time of the First World War the custom changed somewhat in that children of non-fishermen started to take part. This was probably due to the decline of the local fishing industry. The village school gave the children a day's holiday and they would set about constructing two garlands, one of wild flowers and the other of garden flowers. These were held aloft on poles and paraded from house to house in the village with the intention of collecting money which the children would keep. Later in the day older children who had been at school in nearby Weymouth would arrive home and make a more elaborate garland which would also be taken around the houses. From after the First World War two garlands would be placed on the local war memorial.
The Abbotsbury village school closed in 1981 and the children no longer get a day's holiday. This has led to the celebrations taking place in the evening or on the nearest Saturday.
An officious policeman tried to put an end to the custom in 1954, when he stopped the procession through the village and seized the money that the children had so far collected, claiming that it was no more than an excuse to go begging. The children's parents, after organising a procession of protest, took their complaint to the Chief Constable. The custom proved stronger than the petty officiousness of a village policeman, who it seems was transferred.
However, a determination amongst the villagers has ensured that this English tradition survives, albeit in a form slightly different from the original.
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