Oxford Traditions - The 'Must See' May Morning

One of Oxford's most unusual traditions comes up next week, and it's a 'must see' event for our students, the university and ordinary citizens alike.

 

As they have done on May Morning for hundreds of years, at 6am sharp on 1 May the choir of Magdalen College climbs Magdalen Tower, the ancient tower overlooking the High Street, and sings 2 hymns in Latin. Sounds exciting? Well, possibly not; but it is an event steeped in history, and thousands of people gather on Magdalen Bridge to listen, and then to party afterwards. Don't worry if your Latin is a bit rusty - almost nobody understands. In fact for the first 400 years of the festival the sound was normally lost in the wind anyway: these days there is amplification, and it's quite eerie when the 10,000 crowd falls silent and the choir begins to sing.

 

The best place to watch and listen is on the Bridge itself, but lots of people hire punts and watch from the River Cherwell below, and then punt off to have breakfast in a quiet glade upstream. For the rest all the restaurants  in the High open for breakfast, and people party well into the morning. There is also Morris (traditional old English) dancing to keep you amused, in the High and in Radcliffe Square.

 

The origins of this quaint event are lost in the mysteries of time, but one rather more controversial 'tradition' has sprung up in more recent years. This is the practice of some undergraduates and others to jump off Magdalen Bridge into the river. Don't do it! The current is fast, or can be, and the river is surprisingly shallow. People have broken their legs in the past, and now there are plenty of police to keep order and prevent drunken revelry getting out of hand.

 

It's a once in a lifetime event - even if you hate getting up early, go for it!