Jack in the Green: Welcoming in the Summer

Every year, on the first bank holiday weekend of May, the seaside town of Hastings in East Sussex hosts one of the leafiest events of the year: Jack in the Green. This English folk custom is associated with the celebration of May Day. While Jack in the Green events exist elsewhere in the UK, the four-day festival in Hastings is the biggest of them all. Held in its historic Old Town, it dates back at least to the 1700s and is associated with milkmaids and chimney sweeps. It culminates in a grand procession and the Slaying of the Jack on bank holiday Monday.

traditions

Historically, milkmaids would wear their finest clothes, carry decorated milk pails and dance in front of their customers’ houses in exchange for tips. Chimney sweeps would also make the most of May Day, which was their only day off. The event starts early in the day to pay homage to the sweeps’ long working hours. They wear garlands and greenery, which grew more eye-catching and outlandish over time, leading to the creation of Jack. Jack is a character dressed in foliage and leaves. For the event, a real person wears a head-to-toe leafy structure and a crown made of flowers.

PROCESSION

As the most important member of the procession, Jack leads the revellers down the streets of the Old Town. He is accompanied by local dancers, chimney sweeps, milkmaids, the May Queen, giant figures, and Sal and the Bogies. They protect Jack and prevent onlookers from getting too close. If anyone does so, or if the Bogies happen to notice you didn’t abide by the green dress code, they’ll dab your nose with some green face paint as they pass by. The paradeheads up to Hastings’ West Hill, where Jack is ‘slain’; he is stripped of his leaves, welcoming in the spirit of summer. Traditionally, catching one of Jack’s leaves as they are thrown into the air is said to bring good luck.

REVIVAL

Until 1889, at least two groups in the Hastings area celebrated Jack in the Green. However,  by the early 20th century the custom had disappeared. In the 1970s, there was a revival of many folk traditions, which led in 1983 to the creation of Hastings Traditional Jack in the Green by Mad Jack’s Morris, a Morris-dancing troupe now known as Hastings RX Morris. The troupe is still involved in the organisation of the event to this day. Visitors can expect to see traditional folk dances, folk musicians in concert, and Scottish and Irish barn dances, called ‘ceilidhs’. Don’t forget to wear green if you plan on attending — or failing that, pick up some leaves on your way there and put them in your hair!