In Swabia on the first of May a tall fir-tree used to be fetched into the village， where it was decked with ribbons and set up； then the people danced round it merrily to music. The tree stood on the village green the whole year through， until a fresh tree was brought in next May Day. In Saxony people were not content with bringing the summer symbolically (as king or queen) into the village； they brought the fresh green itself from the woods even into the houses： that is the May or Whitsuntide trees， which are mentioned in documents from the thirteenth century onwards. The fetching in of the May-tree was also a festival. The people went out into the woods to seek the May (majum quaerere)， brought young trees， especially firs and birches， to the village and set them up before the doors of the houses or of the cattle-stalls or in the rooms. Young fellows erected such May-trees， as we have already said， before the chambers of their sweethearts. Besides these household Mays， a great May-tree or May-pole， which had also been brought in solemn procession to the village， was set up in the middle of the village or in the market-place of the town. It had been chosen by the whole community， who watched over it most carefully. Generally the tree was stripped of its branches and leaves， nothing but the crown being left， on which were displayed， in addition to many-coloured ribbons and cloths， a variety of victuals such as sausages， cakes， and eggs. The young folk exerted themselves to obtain these prizes. In the greasy poles which are still to be seen at our fairs we have a relic of these old May-poles. Not uncommonly there was a race on foot or on horseback to the May-treea Whitsunday pastime which in course of time has been divested of its goal and survives as a popular custom to this day in many parts of Germany. At Bordeaux on the first of May the boys of each street used to erect in it a May-pole， which they adorned with garlands and a great crown； and every evening during the whole of the month the young people of both sexes danced singing about the pole. Down to the present day May-trees decked with flowers and ribbons are set up on May Day in every village and hamlet of gay Provence. Under them the young folk make merry and the old folk rest.
In all these cases， apparently， the custom is or was to bring in a new May-tree each year. However， in England the village May-pole seems as a rule， at least in later times， to have been permanent， not renewed annually.
Villages of Upper Bavaria renew their May-pole once every three， four， or five years. It is a fir-tree fetched from the forest， and amid all the wreaths， flags， and inscriptions with which it is bedecked， an essential part is the bunch of dark green foliage left at the top as a memento that in it we have to do， not with a dead pole， but with a living tree from the greenwood. We can hardly doubt that originally the practice everywhere was to set up a new May-tree every year. As the object of the custom was to bring in the fructifying spirit of vegetation， newly awakened in spring， the end would have been defeated if， instead of a living tree， green and sappy， an old withered one had been erected year after year or allowed to stand permanently. When， however， the meaning of the custom had been forgotten， and the May-tree was regarded simply as a centre for holiday merry-making， people saw no reason for felling a fresh tree every year， and preferred to let the same tree stand permanently， only decking it with fresh flowers on May Day. But even when the May-pole had thus become a fixture， the need of giving it the appearance of being a green tree， not a dead pole， was sometimes felt. Thus at Weverham in Cheshire are two May-poles， which are decorated on this day (May Day) with all due attention to the ancient solemnity； the sides are hung with garlands， and the top terminated by a birch or other tall slender tree with its leaves on； the bark being peeled， and the stem spliced to the pole， so as to give the appearance of one tree from the summit. Thus the renewal of the May-tree is like the renewal of the Harvest-May； each is intended to secure a fresh portion of the fertilising spirit of vegetation， and to preserve it throughout the year. But whereas the efficacy of the Harvest-May is restricted to promoting the growth of the crops， that of the May-tree or May-branch extends also， as we have seen， to women and cattle. Lastly， it is worth noting that the old May-tree is sometimes burned at the end of the year. Thus in the district of Prague young people break pieces of the public May-tree and place them behind the holy pictures in their rooms， where they remain till next May Day， and are then burned on the hearth. In Würtemberg the bushes which are set up on the houses on Palm Sunday are sometimes left there for a year and then burnt.
So much for the tree-spirit conceived as incorporate or immanent in the tree. We have now to show that the tree-spirit is often conceived and represented as detached from the tree and clothed in human form， and even as embodied in living men or women. The evidence for this anthropomorphic representation of the tree-spirit is largely to be found in the popular customs of European peasantry.
