What is the traditional English May Day dance that involves handkerchiefs and bells?

The traditional English May Day dance involving handkerchiefs and bells is Morris dancing. It is a group folk-dance tradition built around rhythmic stepping, choreographed figures, music, and distinctive props.

Cotswold Morris, one of the best-known styles, commonly uses white clothing, bell pads, ribbons, and handkerchiefs or sticks. Dancers wave the handkerchiefs as part of the figures, while bells worn around the legs add a bright rhythmic sound. Other Morris styles, including Border and North West Morris, have different costumes, movements, and regional histories.

The dance is much older than the modern May Day revival. References to Morris dancing appear in England by the mid-15th century, and the tradition was performed in courtly and popular settings. William Kempe, an actor associated with Shakespeare’s company, famously Morris-danced from London to Norwich in 1600.

Morris dancing is sometimes described as purely ancient or pre-Christian, but that claim is not securely supported. Folklorists such as Cecil Sharp helped record and revive surviving village traditions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.