Welcoming in the May!

Well here it is, May and it still looks like February! So my pastel painting doesn't look too out of place as here all the trees are still bare!

In Germany 30th of April and 1st of May are full of traditions. In Swabia where we used to live, the 30th was "Walpurgisnacht", an evening where young people play tricks on their neighbours, like carrying away all your garden furniture, or hiding things from your garden in other neighbours' gardens! Toilet paper or eggs were also often involved! I'm a great believer in tradition, but this was a pain! You usually spent the evening dragging everything from your garden into the house!
May trees are put up in most towns and everybody sits listening to music and swilling beer while they are put up (this takes up to several hours!) The May trees themselves are huge fir trees, stripped, painted blue and white and decorated with ribbons. The young villagers make these trees and guard them in the days before they are put up because they are often stolen by neighbouring villages (we are talking 15-20 metres in height here!) If your tree is stolen you have to pay a ransom - usually in beer, to get it back!
One lovely tradition is giving your girlfriend her own tree. The boys take young birches and decorate them with ribbons and a personal inscription and put them up infront of their loved-ones house overnight! When you give your girlfriend her third tree, it's time to get married! How lovely is that!