What's on in Oxford

Oxford May Day

May 2010 (annual)

Cost: Free

Hours: Singing at 5am

Centuries-old traditions are upheld for Oxford May Day by the population of this student town. Spectators gather in their thousands to hear the choir of Magdalen College sing in the new May dawn from the top of their chapel tower.

The night of 30 April starts with parties throughout the town, the best being a huge outdoor affair at Port Meadow (please confirm that this is happening before you make travel plans for it), a field that has been common land since medieval times. Although most forsake the meadow for Magdalen Bridge during the early hours of the morning, should you stick around till sunrise, Morris Dancers appear complete with trademark bells round their ankles to dance in the new day.

Large crowds gather at the Magdalen Bridge from about 5am - it's a good idea to get there early for a spot. Foolhardy students have been known to attempt spectacular jumps into the rushing river, but as the Cherwell is only about six feet deep and the bridge quite high, a spate of injuries led to the closure of the bridge in 2006.

As the choir starts to sing the Medieval Eucharist hymn from the tower of Magdalen College, the raucous crowd goes quiet. No one knows when the tradition of May Day dawn singing began, but records go back to the 17th century, and it could stretch back further still. Whenever it started, the beauty of the ethereal voices of these little boys soaring out into sudden silence so early in the morning is very moving.

After the singing the crowd gradually disperses, many flocking to the breakfast picnics thrown in the college gardens, impromptu cricket matches, and the many pubs that open especially early by special dispensation to sustain the flagging revellers.

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