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A maypole is a tall wooden pole erected as a part of various European folk festivals, around which a maypole dance often takes place. The festivals may occur on May Day or Pentecost (Whitsun), although in some countries it is instead erected at Midsummer. In some cases the maypole is a permanent feature that is only utilised during the festival, although in other cases it is erected specifically for the purpose before being taken down again. Primarily found within the nations of Germanic Europe and the neighbouring areas which they have influenced, its origins remain unknown, although it has been speculated that it originally had some importance in the Germanic paganism of Iron Age and early Medieval cultures, and that the tradition survived Christianisation, albeit losing any original meaning that it had. It has been a recorded practice in many parts of Europe throughout the Medieval and Early Modern periods, although became less popular in the 18th and 19th centuries. Today, the tradition is still observed in some parts of Europe and among European communities in North America. ==Symbolism== The symbolism of the maypole has been continuously debated by folklorists for centuries, although no set conclusion has ever been arrived at. Some scholars classify maypoles as symbols of the world axis (axis mundi). The fact that they were found primarily in areas of Germanic Europe, where, prior to Christianisation, Germanic paganism was followed in various forms, has led to speculation that the maypoles were in some way a continuation of a Germanic pagan tradition. One theory holds that they were a remnant of the Germanic reverence for sacred trees, as there is evidence for various sacred trees and wooden pillars that were venerated by the pagans across much of Germanic Europe, including Thor's Oak and the Irminsul.〔''A History of Pagan Europe'' by Prudence Jones and Nigel Pennick, Routledge, 1997, ISBN 0-415-15804-4, ISBN 978-0-415-15804-6, page 119〕 It is also known that, in Norse paganism, cosmological views held that the universe was a world tree, known as Yggdrasil.〔'The London quarterly review, Volumes 113-114', Theodore Foster, 1863, page 117〕〔'The History of Religions' By Hopkins Edward Washburn, The McMillan Company 1929, page 166〕〔''European paganism: the realities of cult from antiquity to the Middle Ages'' by Ken Dowden, Routledge, 2000, ISBN 0-415-12034-9, ISBN 978-0-415-12034-0, page 119〕〔'Nart sagas from the Caucasus: myths and legends from the Circassians, Abazas, Abkhaz, and Ubykhs' by John Colarusso, Princeton University Press, 2002, ISBN 0-691-02647-5, ISBN 978-0-691-02647-3, page 102〕〔'The early history and antiquities of Freemasonry: as connected with ancient Norse guilds, and the oriental and mediæval building fraternities' by George Franklin Fort, Bradley, 1881, page 361〕 There is therefore speculation that the maypole was in some way a continuance of this tradition. Non-Germanic people have viewed them as having phallic symbolism, an idea which was purported by Thomas Hobbes, who erroneously believed that the poles dated back to the Roman worship of the god Priapus. This notion has been supported by various figures since, including the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. Phallic symbolism has been attributed to the maypole in the later Early Modern period, as one sexual reference is in John Cleland's controversial novel ''Fanny Hill'':
The anthropologist Mircea Eliade theorizes that the maypoles were simply a part of the general rejoicing at the return of summer, and the growth of new vegetation. In this way, they bore similarities with the May Day garlands which were also a common festival practice in Britain and Ireland.〔Hutton, Ronald (1996). The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Page 234.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Maypole」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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