Happy May Day

Today is May Day, a traditional pagan religious celebration which honours the first day of the summer. The earliest May Day celebrations appeared in pre-Christian times, with the festival of Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers, and the Walpurgis Night celebrations of the Germanic countries. It has since been amalgamated with Christian traditions and has lost many of its original pagan inferences. Some which have remained include Morris dancing, crowning a May Queen and celebrations involving a Maypole. These traditional British May Day rites and celebrations come from pagan Anglo-Saxon customs. Whether you enjoy these traditions or not one thing we all hope is the weather will start to become more summery!

Now you may or may not have known that the first of May is May Day but maybe you weren't aware that it is also New Homeowner's Day. This is a day dedicated to celebrating the delight and joyfulness of buying a new home. However moving house can be very stressful, in fact research has shown that the anxiety of moving house is one of the most stressful events that can occur throughout your life. It can be on a par with divorce and bereavement with all the inescapable tension and anxiety of the build-up to the actual day of the move itself. That's why if you have a friend or family member who is acquiring a new home it's a lovely idea to get them a nice personalised house warming gift.