returns the next year to crown the new May Queen and stays in the procession. The largest event in this tradition in modern Britain is the Beltane Fire Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland. A May Day celebration held annually since 1870 in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada, has the distinction of being the longest running May Day celebration of its kind in the British Commonwealth. Related personifications Male companions to the May Queen, sometimes associated with May Day customs in Great Britain, include personifications known as Father May, King of the May, May King, Garland King, Green Man, or Jack in the Green. As part of this folk custom, some villages would choose a man to act as consort for the May Queen. This man, the May King, would dress in greenery to symbolise springtime. See also May crowning References External links A translation of Grimm's Saga No. 365 about Hertha, Mother Earth, and a web essay on how she became the May Queen Freya, May Queen with references, songs and customs Holiday characters May European mythology Spring festivals