This ancient spring festival celebrates the end of winter and marks the start of spring and the arrival of new vitality and fertility with the trees and flowers bursting into life. Houses and shops of the town are decorated with greenery and floral arrangements to express the spirit of renewal.
Couples dance through the streets, entering selected houses and shops to drive out the darkness of winter and bring in the light of spring.
The colourful pageant, known as Hal an Tow, tells the history of Helston with the participating characters singing about the challenge of the Spanish Armada, the English patron saint, St. George and the fight between St. Michael and the devil.