It is not a feat of engineering but a declaration of love in wood, and it follows charming rules of its own. Anyone who finds one outside the window in the morning knows what it means, even with no name attached.
What a love maypole is
A young, decorated birch that a young man puts up in secret in the night before the first of May, outside the house or the window of the woman he is courting. Coloured ribbons belong to it, often a heart with her name on it. Unlike the big maypole of a place, it is a private gesture. The custom is especially widespread in the Rhineland.
How long it stands
It usually stays for the whole of May and is taken down again at the beginning of June. In many areas the family of the courted woman then expects the suitor for a small meal, in some places a kiss comes on top, and in both cases half the village knows about it.
The leap year
In leap years the custom can turn around: in many places the young women then put up the tree for the men. It is not a fixed rule. The leap-year custom was long confined to particular areas and has only spread more widely in recent times. That keeps the thing moving, and both sides find out what it is like to do the asking.
The birch
Why a birch? Because it is the spring tree above all others, pale, slender and early into leaf. For the big maypole of a place spruce or fir is used instead, as described in the guide to buying a maypole. On the symbolism as a whole, see the page on meaning.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Maibaum.
- Wikipedia: Maibrauchtum (Rheinland).
- Michael Ritter, Bayerischer Landesverein für Heimatpflege, in: MUH 48 (2023): Maibaumaufstellen.
Retrieved on 7 October 2026. The sources are in German. They document the facts given on this page; the bodies named remain the authority.