The path from felled trunk to finished maypole is long, and most of it is handwork. Over weeks the tree is prepared, and how it looks in the end is a small calling card of the community.
The white-and-blue paint
The classic maypole is painted in a white-and-blue spiral, the colours of Bavaria. The spiral runs from foot to just below the crown and marks the tree from afar as what it is. Not every tree is painted, in some places the trunk is left natural, but white and blue is the most widespread image.
The wreath and the crown
At the top a green crown is left or a wreath is fixed, often with colourful ribbons. The wreath is an old sign of fertility and spring and is among the oldest elements of the custom.
The guild emblems
The heart of it are the guild emblems: ornately forged or painted plaques and figures showing the trades and clubs of the place, the baker, the smith, the butcher, the brass band, the fire brigade. The tree becomes a directory of the community high in the air. What these emblems mean in detail is on the page about the meaning of the maypole. A particularly richly designed example is the maypole at the Viktualienmarkt with its six figure groups.
Who decorates the tree
In most places the young men's or maypole club, the fire brigade or committed neighbours take this on, often over weeks and with many hands. At the end comes the day of raising, when the decorated tree goes up.