Renaissance, Anyone?

Traditions like Flower Sunday and Hoop Rolling are constant reminders that Wellesley's heritage remains strong. But not every tradition has been in place since the 1870s, nor has every tradition survived. I'm curious about Wellesley's dead traditions. It's like looking at baby pictures of your parents—it's them, yet it's not. Wellesley's dead traditions seem bizarre, but are still so...Wellesley.

Some of Wellesley's dead traditions didn't deserve to survive. There was no need to keep Forensic Burning, a mysterious ritual where students would burn or drown their textbooks and form a candle-lit procession across campus, chanting Latin dirges. This must have been a liberating feeling, but we economically wise ladies of today know that if saving a textbook or notebook isn't valuable alone, selling it on Amazon is bound to return at least 20 percent of the list price. And isn't burning books bad for the environment? Other traditions, however—like Tree Day, May Day, and Float Night—deserve a rebirth.

"Traditions of Wellesley," published in 1916, says, "Any alumna, former student, or friend who sees these pages, and who can add to our treasure trove will render the Alumnae Association a great service by sending her contribution to the Chairman of the Historical Committee at the College." I am not an alumna, but a current student (does that make me a friend?), and I suppose I could add to the "treasure trove" by indicating that a few of Wellesley's beloved traditions have passed away since this book was published. But I am not going to be a voice of the future—I want to re-explore Wellesley's dead traditions, and I want them back!

Tree Day

Most Wellesley students are aware that every year the sophomore class plants their class tree, but what most students don't realize is that this event was once a daylong celebration called Tree Day. In 1877, Wellesley only had two established classes, so the purpose of the trees was to watch them grow as the students themselves grew at Wellesley. The celebration included a pageant, songs, speeches and choreographed ensembles.

In the 1960s, students became more attached to spending their free time in Boston and subsequently lost interest in Tree Day. In 1969, the College canceled the event due to its proximity to exam week, and the celebration never came back. I am a sophomore and I don't even know where or when my 2013 tree was planted. It's too bad that such traditions are hastily carried out, as if we can't wait to return to studying for our exams or abandoning campus whenever we get the chance. The event was once an important day to class identity, and still should be today.

May Day

Like Tree Day, one aspect of May Day (hoop rolling) remains, but the daylong celebration has passed away. In 1895, some wise seniors felt that Wellesley needed some fun and spontaneity: "As seniors we thought everyone seemed too serious, and the Wellesley tendency was to take ones-self too seriously." These words are still true today. And so May Day, also known as "Play Day," was born. The Maypole dance and May Queen were throwbacks to the Old English May Day traditions, but general silliness was the highlight of the program.

Students used to scrub statues, including the beloved Backwoodsman, a statue that used to sit on the south porch of College Hall before it went missing in 1912. They brushed the Backwoodsman's teeth and dressed up other statues with hairdos and parasols. Lemonade, ice cream, costumes, hide and seek, London Bridge is Falling and hoop rolling were also part of the childlike fun. This frolic is reminiscent of Lake Day, but I believe Wellesley students could always use a day off.

Float Night

On a late spring day at dusk, a parade of class crews set out from the shores of Lake Waban to race, sing class songs, and greet each other. When a senior boat called the other boats together, they made formations, such as stars, by holding the boats together with cord at the sterns and bows. A Wellesley student's letter from 1884 that described "Float" said, "Well, we have a lot of boats on the lake, and though we don't go wild over races as those foolish Yale and Harvard boys do, yet we have our class crews and all that, and really get no end of fun out of our boating."

Float Night was open to the public, and in the 1890s it drew crowds from Boston. Even the mayor and the governor came to watch the sunset over Lake Waban as the boats glowed with lantern light and fireworks lit the skies. Float Night was cancelled during World War II, and was rained out a couple years thereafter, leading to its death.

Since everybody enjoys Lake Waban in her own way—whether by walking around it, being on the crew team, or taking a boat out during Open Boat House—I think it would be appropriate if all students could unite on Lake Waban and enjoy it at once.

Who knows how long our current traditions will remain? (I hope free Fall Frenzy shirts stick around as long as I am here!) It seems like a lot of these traditions have been lost because of a detachment from the campus. If we forgot chasing an hour-long ride to Boston on a day off, and spent our free time enjoying Wellesley instead of uploading wry FML comments, perhaps it would be possible to revive these traditions—or at least maintain our own. But if we can't get Tree Day, May Day and Float Day back, at least we can remember them.