Where and why did the " ladies go dancing...." ?

Question:

Where and why did the " ladies go dancing...." ?

.... at Whitsun? What is this about ? It's a nice song but meaning what ?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Many of the old ladies who swelled the membership lists of Country Dance Societies were 1914/18 war widows, or ladies who had lost fianc㩳 and lovers. Country dancing kept the memory of their young men alive. When Shirley Collins started singing the piece to the tune of The False Bride, the impact was disturbing, for many people in audiences identified with it. Tears were frequent. Now a sharp relevance in contemporary song is one thing but such a pessimistic effect was not what was intended. So when Shirley recorded the song she showed the way the spirit of the generation sacrificed in the mud of France had been caught and brought to life by the new generation born since World War II by concluding with the chorus of the Staines Morris:

Come you young men come along
With your music dance and song
Bring your lasses in your hands
For 'tis now that love commands
Then to the maypole haste away
For 'tis now a holiday."