Maypole at Mass - liturgical abuse?

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On Saturday, May 1st I attended a First Communion Mass in [edited] MD.

I am concerned because there were two maypoles in front of the sanctuary (see attached image). Additionally, two of the First Communicants processed in with the maypoles.

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This made me very uncomfortable since the maypole is an old pagan phallic symbol. Since it was May Day, I can understand why a liturgist may have thought it was a good idea, but it seems to me to send a bad message.

I know the Church had some association with the maypole in the Middle Ages, but historicity doesn’t make a wrong right.

If this is legitimate liturgical abuse, I’m happy to talk to the bishop about it, but I’d like a sanity-check to be sure I’m not just being ignorant.

Thanks,
~Jason
 
It’s probably an abuse, but either way, what a lame Maypole! The thing looks like a Festivus pole.
 
It is lamentable that, as I said in a previous thread, Holy Week and sacramental liturgies (FHC, Confirmations and weddings) are, for some, hotbeds for abuse and experimentation. Maypoles have no place in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. This sends the children, albeit, the faithful, the wrong message as to what we are doing and why we are there.

First Holy Communion is an important time in the life of a child because it is here that he has a direct, personal and intimate encouter with Jesus for the first time. It should not be sullied by novelties and trends. If encountering Jesus is not enough, and well-meaning people believe that such novelties and niceties should be added, then, sadly, they do not yet understand the meaning of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. They probably stand in need of catechesis more than the children for we believe as we pray.
 
Did they SAY they were Maypoles? If they didn’t come right out and say it, I would rather doubt that the are. I would think they’re just supposed to be festive “banners.” I’ve seen some like them with bells on the ribbons. They rang as they went down the aisle in procession.

Benedictgal would know better, but if they aren’t Maypoles, they may not be an actual abuse. Doesn’t the Church allow banners in procession?

Mind you, abuse or not, they’re an aesthetic disaster!
 
I believe that in actual “Maypoles,” people took the ends of the ribbons or whatever, and danced around the poles. From the picture, looks as if things are hangling too low to the floor to do that. Also, it looks as if the draping on the Crucifix matches whatever is hanging from those things. I’d vote for aesthetic disaster and seriously misguided Altar Society. Whatever happened to flowers?
 
Best idea is to ask the priest. Just say, “Father, I’ve never seen decorations like these before. Do they have some significance?”

You’ll likely get a perfectly reasonable answer like, “Oh, they are just pretty ribbon banners that the altar guild came up with.” Which as others have said just means the altar guild has bad taste, not that anyone is deliberately undermining First Communion Mass.

Of course if Father says, “We thought they’d be great symbols of fertility and spring.” then you can call the bishop.
 
Mattapoisett64 said:
I believe that in actual “Maypoles,” people took the ends of the ribbons or whatever, and danced around the poles. From the picture, looks as if things are hangling too low to the floor to do that. Also, it looks as if the draping on the Crucifix matches whatever is hanging from those things. I’d vote for aesthetic disaster and seriously misguided Altar Society. Whatever happened to flowers?
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It would be a stretch to call them banners. Banners would be better suited for processions like Corpus Christi. Furthermore, I am not a huge proponent of draping anything around the crucifix.

If these were maypoles, there is just something too strange about having them within the context of the Mass. Did it not occur to anyone that May 1 is the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker?
 
I agree with Benedictgal on this issue. There is no place for a Maypole during any Mass.
 
Thanks for the responses, everybody.

I think I’ll take the more gentle approach of talking to the pastor the next time I’m there. A humble approach often leads to results. We’ll see how it goes.

Although I think I’ll omit the phrase “aesthetic disaster.” 🙂 I wonder if he’d get the Festivus joke…

Thanks,
~Jason
catholictechnologist.blogspot.com
 
Yep. As a pagan who attends a Beltane ritual each year with a maypole, I can tell you that’s the real deal. I don’t know whether to laugh or be annoyed. Wasn’t it enough you kiped most of our seasonal holidays? We’re still waiting for the royalty checks…Anyway, if you’re gonna do it, do it right. You might want to get a phallic symbol that’s a little, umm… more substantial!😃 There is a whole dance associated with it, a kind of intricate duck and weave which wraps the whole pole in a nice crosshatch pattern, if it’s done well.

It usually becomes a whole magickal rite with blessing of infants and raising of energy for (wait for it)…fertility! Now, I have to think whoever did your maypole had no such understanding or intent, so it’s really just a bit of festive decoration in your case. People sometimes have cross-staffs at pagan gatherings. That doesn’t make it a Christian event or damage our rituals in any way. You still have more of our ancestral DNA in you than you care to admit…I sometimes go to a Christmas Mass with my wife’s family, and I always find that they set the finest pagan altar anywhere…loaded with evergreen boughs, the whole nine.
 
Just remembered something else. A very dear (and very Catholic) friend of mine was upset because the church he attended had some other practices which didn’t sit right with him. He described them to me, and it turned out they were doing a ritual sweeping of a circle around the altar before Mass! You can’t GET any more Wiccan than that! (unless you also manage to infuse the space with the odor of Nag Champa incense and cat urine)…We gotta get some better copyright attorneys and you all need to brush up on some basics with your catechesis people…
 
It is a bit strange, but no stranger than painting eggs for easter or putting up a tree for Christmas. Still, I notice that the Pagan-origin traditions are usually celebrated in the home, not during the mass. I guess the real question is, what does the maypole mean to YOU? If it means nothing at all, then it’s just a harmless (albeit tacky) decoration.

Interestingly, the maypole was a tradition well into Catholic history, and was only re-popularized among the Pagans by Alex Sanders, who I’ve been told, only included it in his ritual as a joke.
 
A nearby town with a strong German identity sets up a maypole for their Webentanz, which is their traditional kickoff for Oktoberfest. Theirs is about 30 feet tall and, in Bavarian style, is wrapped with blue and white ribbons by interweaving dancers. While this is still a custom in southern Germany, it is long divorced from any pagan connections and is never done in church.

In this instance, it seems that the children were carrying banners that happened to be maypole-shaped, but then again, it was on May Day. If there was a religious sister of the liberal sort involved in the planning, it was probably exactly what our pagan friends intimated in their posts. At least there wasn’t a hammer and sickle on top, since May Day is also a feast day for Communists.

If it had been a Festivus pole, I suppose that the Mass could only end when the pastor had been wrestled to the ground. :slapfight:
 
Feats of Strength at a Mass…!😃 I want to see the pope get a rematch with that crazy woman who jumped him last Christmas. I don’t think she could take him in a fair match, and NOBODY dumps a Hitler Jugend alum on his own stage and gets to walk away clean…
 
kenofken said:
Feats of Strength at a Mass…!😃 I want to see the pope get a rematch with that crazy woman who jumped him last Christmas. I don’t think she could take him in a fair match, and NOBODY dumps a Hitler Jugend alum on his own stage and gets to walk away clean…
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I guess that this website serves for the Airing of Grievances. As such, I am very uncomfortable with the HJ reference. He was certainly not what they would have considered an Eagle Scout equivalent.
 
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