The Furry Dance (/ˈfʌri/ FUH-ree) is a celebration of the passing of winter and the arrival of spring, and one of the oldest British customs still practised today. Traditionally held on 8 May, it is closely associated with Helston, Cornwall, where dancers wear lily of the valley, the city's symbolic flower. The name likely derives from Cornish fer meaning "fair, feast" referencing the celebration of the Apparition of Michael the Archangel, Helston's patron saint.