Cuckoo Day

This annual celebration welcomes the return of the Cuckoo to Marsden (City in the North East of England). It is the spring arrival, around mid-April.

This day is celebrated with art workshops, a craft fair, making flag, a procession to the mast village (Fig.2) and a typical English dance called Morris.

There is a legend that refers that when you hear the cuckoo singing, you must drop coins to the ground.  In the case of dropping in land it means good luck but in hard ground it means bad luck.

In order to last this  time people create walls/fences in order to maintain it.

To celebrate Cuckoo’s Summer life cycle they created a song:

In April I open my bill

In May I sing night and day

In June I change my tune

In July far far I fly

 In August away I must

Ilustração 1 fig. 2 – Cuckoo Day                                                    

Ilustração 2 fig. 1 - Maypole

Written by: Inês Santos, nº 13 and Maria Almeida, nº 18