Jack in the Green Mayday festival. Hastings, East Sussex, England, UK

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The annual Jack in the Green festival, held to celebrate the arrival of Summer. With it's origins in Paganism the festival is now one of the few remaining truly English cultural traditions. The procession makes it's way through Hastings Old Town, along the seafront and the up to the Castle ruins overlooking the beautiful Hastings Coastline. As Jack parades through the town his Bogies pass through the crowd 'greening' the spectators in a rite of fertility. At the end of the day as Jacks spirit is released his leafy body is slain and distributed amongst the people again as a rite of fertility and as a sign of the arrival of Summer.

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Size: 5214px × 3397px
Location: Hastings, East Sussex, England, UK
Photo credit: © Kelvin Webb / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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