Getting up before dawn and climbing up Arthur’s Seat, Calton Hill or Blackford Hill may not be everyone’s idea of how to celebrate, but traditionally that was what thousands of people, mostly young women, would do each year on May 1 so they could take part in the ancient rite of washing their faces in the dew.
The May dew was seen by the druids as “holy water” and sprinkling it on yourself was meant to bring vitality, beauty and good fortune for the rest of the year.
An Evening News report from 1968 talks of 2,000 people making the early morning pilgrimage up Arthur’s Seat, but another report in 1987 revealed numbers had dwindled to 300 –though that might have been partly due to the rain that day. While they were up Arthur’s Seat, they could also join in a dawn service, traditionally led by the minister of Canongate Kirk, to celebrate May Day.
Holyrood Park also used to be the venue for the annual Edinburgh miners’ gala at the start of May each year. A parade of trade unionists through the streets would be followed by speeches in the park, often from notable figures, followed by a sports day. The tradition of a May Day march continues, though on a smaller scale.
And then there’s Beltane, the ancient Gaelic May Day festival which marks the start of summer. By the mid 20th century, the celebration of Beltane had largely disappeared but a revival of interest has seen a Beltane fire festival held every year since 1988 on Edinburgh’s Calton Hill. There are fire dances and a procession by costumed performers, led by the May Queen and the Green Man, culminating in the lighting of a bonfire.

. Morning dew
Leslie Jackson washes her face in the May Day morning dew on Arthur's Seat in the age-old Edinburgh tradition. Photo: Stan Warburton

. May Day service
The Reverend Dr. Ronald Selby Wright, who was minister at Canongate Kirk from 1937 until 1977, conducts a May Day service on top of Arthur's Seat. Photo: Alan Ledgerwood

. May dew
Alex Shewan, Mary Carmichael and Moira Moodie May wash their faces in the morning after a May Day service on Arthur's Seat. Photo: Scotsman Publications

. May dew 1969
Four girls wash their faces in the dew at the top of Arthur's Seat Edinburgh on May Day 1969. Photo: Hamish Campbell

. May dew 1983
Alison Mitch and Lesley-Ann Mitch was their faces in the dew at the top of Arthur's Seat, May Day 1983. Photo: Alex Brown

. Beltane 2012
The Beltane fire festival in 2012 marked the 25th anniversary of the annual celebration on top of Edinburgh's Calton Hill. Photo: Ellen Relander

13. Banners flying
May Day marchers proudly carrying their banner in the Royal Mile as part of the annual march. Photo: Toby Williams

14. May dew 1987
Three girls wash their face in the morning dew at the top of Arthur's Seat during the traditional May Day ceremony in Edinburgh, 1987. Photo: Joe Steele

15. Coal board boss at rally
Alf Robens, chairman of the National Coal Board, speaks at a miners' May Day rally in Edinburgh's Holyrood Park. Photo: Scotsman Publications

16. May Day Rally 2002
Veteran American left-winger Paul Robeson Jnr addressed the May Day Rally in Princes Street Gardens West in 2002. The son of Paul Robeson Snr., the late Black American civil rights campaigner, Robeson made a call to abolish globalisation and to halt fascism. Photo: Andrew Stuart