The words in the Nursery Rhyme ‘Here We Go Gathering Nuts In May’ are troubling. Where are the nuts in May? Cold and frosty mornings are not too common in May, but as vegetable gardeners we are well aware that there is a risk of frost in May.
May 1st was an important day in the Irish farming calendar. The end of winter was celebrated with the gathering of flowers, dancing around bonfires or May poles, and one very special activity usually performed by Irish children – the making of a May bush. This activity ensured a plentiful harvest in the coming months.
The children collected the ‘nuts’ and used them to build the May Bush. The ‘nuts’ were actually bunches of flowers collected from the hedgerows. The word was originally knots, and referred to knots or bunches of flowers.
As far as the frost mentioned in the rhyme is concerned, there are plenty of recordings of frost in Ireland during May. So perhaps this nursery rhyme ‘Here we come gathering nuts in May’ originated in Ireland?
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Here we go gathering nuts in May,
Nuts in May, nuts in May.
Here we go gathering nuts in May,
On a cold and frosty morning.
