In England mazes called Gillian Bowers were cut into turf. In springtime the young men ran races through these turf mazes, while a woman imper- sonating the otherwise unknown folkloric figure #Gillian was “imprisoned” at the center of the maze and “freed” by the race’s winner. A ritual of freeing the sun maiden from her winter captivity seems implied by the game. A goddess named Gillian, perhaps ruling the springtime, may have given her name to these sites.
Source: P. Monaghan Encyclopedia of #Celtic #Mythology and #Folklore
