VSU Holds May Pole Ceremony

VALDOSTA - The Valdosta State University Centennial Steering Committee will hold a May Pole Ceremony at 10 a.m. Tuesday, May 1, on the university’s front lawn. More than 30 women from VSU sororities wearing Greek letter jerseys will wrap two May Poles with ribbons in honor of the women who held this annual event at South Georgia Woman’s College.

In its early years, the May Day celebration was one of the most colorful and anticipated events on campus, which included participation from many of the students on campus. Traditions were based on the Old English May Day ceremonies that celebrated spring, yet each year had a special theme. Whether following a “Sleeping Beauty” or “Springtime in the South” theme, the festival’s spirit remained the same and its climax was always the winding of brightly colored May poles, a characteristic feature of an Old English May Day.

Due to wartime conditions and restrictions, the annual event was discontinued after the 1942 celebration, resuming in 1948 before finally coming to an end in the late 1950s. This year’s celebration will be nostalgic of the May Day tradition observed by the women of South Georgia Woman’s College years ago, offering anyone of any age the chance to re-live history.