2015-07-14
879
The most interesting time of year in which to visit Cambridge is during May Week. This is neither in May nor during a week. For some reasons which nobody remembers, May Week is the name given to the first two weeks in June, the very end of the University year.
May Week denotes not so much a particular period of time as the general atmosphere of relaxation at the end of the year's work. It starts for each undergraduate when he finishes his examinations.
Everything as far as possible has to happen in the open air-parties, picnics, concerts and plays. May Week seems like a celebration of the coming of spring, till then ignored in favour of examinations, and this spirit of release seems to take over the entire (the whole) town. People go to the river behind the colleges which stand next to the river to watch May boat races in which young energetic men are ready to show off their skill.
Music and drama also have a part to play in the festivities. Nearly each college of the University (and there are over 20 of them) holds a May Week concert or presents a play in the open air.
But the most important events are the May Balls for which some girls do their best in advance to get invitations for a month. College May Balls are the climax of May Week and for many undergraduates are the final event of their university life, when the river is lit with coloured lights, ballroom orchestra plays for dancers and punts glide romantically down the river.
References
the May Balls - Майский бал
