"Helston Furry Dance", also known as "Hal-an-tow", "Helston Foray/Forey" or "The Cornish May Song" is an English dance tune in 4/4 time and F Major (Karpeles, Raven), G Major (Carlin) or D Major (Barnes). The parts are played AABB. The tune and its variants are widespread over England and Wales. Baring-Gould calls it "a relic of part of the Old English May Games" and it was published by Edward Jones in his Bardic Museum, vol. II (1802) and George Johnson in his Welsh Airs, vol. II (1811). The name Helston, referring to a town in Cornwall, comes from a Celtic root, "henlis", meaning 'old court', coupled with the Old English ending, 'ton' (tun), meaning an enclosure, farm or village. It is an ancient market town and was first granted its charter in the year 1201. The term "furry" probably derives from the Cornish word "fer" meaning "fair" or "feast". The Furry Dance is one of the oldest British customs still practiced today. It is not a morris dance but, as with many morris dances, pagan origins are often ascribed to the rituals that "welcomes in the spring". It takes place on the 8th of May (except when the date falls on a Sunday or Monday — Monday being Market Day — when it is the preceding Saturday), the date celebrating the feast of the Apparition of Saint Michael. It is also called "Flora Day". The town is decorated with bluebells and hazel. It takes the form of a dignified procession with separate dances for adults and children. The dancers dress in top hats and tails and their finest dresses and the procession follows a traditional route. Most people in the procession wear lily of the valley, which is Helston's symbolic flower. Unlike most traditional dances, the music for this dance is played by the town band which is a marching brass band. It was printed in Baring-Gould's Songs of the West (1892), Barnes' English Country Dance Tunes, vol. 2 (2005), Carlin's Master Collection (1984), Karpeles & Schofield's A Selection of 100 English Folk Dance Airs (1951) and Raven's English Country Dance Tunes (1984). It was recorded by Billy Cooper, Walter & Daisy Bulwer on English Country Music (2000. Originally recorded 1962).