We don’t seem to have a spring festival here.  I wonder why that is.  Maybe it’s because we don’t suffer in the winter cold and dark like our brethren in the Northern Hemisphere.  We don’t even have a public holiday in the spring (except in South Canterbury, when they celebrate their anniversary day).



In the Northern hemisphere, especially in Britain and Europe, there are many spring festivals all hailing from ancient times.  The people were glad to see the back of the long hard winters when the days, as well as the food supply, were short.  Spring was welcomed in with joy and celebration and great feasting.

As a child I grew up in towns and villages all over the British Isles and participated in many a festival to welcome in the spring.  But the one I like the most...