May Day (redirected from 1st of May)

May Day, first day of May. Its celebration probably originated in the spring fertility festivals of India and Egypt. The festival of the Roman goddess of spring, Flora, was celebrated from Apr. 28 to May 3. In medieval England the chief feature of the celebration of May Day was the Maypole; this was decorated with flowers and streamers, the loose ends of which were held by dancers, who encircled the pole, weaving intricate patterns as they passed each other in the dance. These dances are still performed for exhibition purposes in England and the United States. The Second Socialist International in 1889 designated May Day as the holiday for labor, and since that time it has been the occasion for demonstrations, parades, and speeches among socialists and communists.

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May Day

In Europe, the day (May 1) for traditional springtime celebrations. It probably originated in pre-Christian agricultural rituals. Celebrations included a May king and queen, a Maypole, and people carrying trees, green branches, or garlands. May Day was designated an international labour day by the International Socialist Congress of 1899, and it remains the standard Labour Day worldwide, with a few exceptions, including Canada and the U.S. A major holiday in the Soviet Union and other communist countries, it was the occasion for important political demonstrations.

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May Day

May 1

Many of the customs associated with the first day of May may come from the old Roman Floralia, or festival of flowers. These include the gathering of branches and flowers on May Day Eve or early May Day morning, the choosing and crowning of a May Queen, and dancing around a bush, tree, or decorated pole, the maypole. The sports and festivities that are held on this day symbolize the rebirth of nature as well as human fertility. In fact, the ritual drinking and dancing around the maypole in colonial America so horrified the Pilgrim Fathers that they outlawed the practice and punished the offenders. This is probably why May Day has remained a relatively quiet affair in this country.
In Communist countries, May Day has been transformed into a holiday for workers, marked by parades that are an occasion for displaying military strength. The May Day Parade in Red Square, Moscow, has long been a spectacular example, though less so in recent years with the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the resulting relaxation of Cold War tensions. Perhaps in reaction to such displays, Americans instituted Loyalty Day and Law Day on this same date. In Great Britain, May 1 is Labor Day. More than 50 other countries also celebrate Labor Day in honor of workers on May 1.
See also Vappu

SOURCES:
AmerBkDays-2000, p. 334
BkDays-1864, vol. I, p. 570
BkFest-1937, pp. 17, 58, 88, 113, 122, 186, 261, 278, 310
DaysCustFaith-1957, p. 115
DictFolkMyth-1984, pp. 129, 202, 203, 534, 695, 750, 866, 946, 1064
EncyEaster-2002, p. 397
FestSaintDays-1915, pp. 102, 105, 109
FestWestEur-1958, p. 37
FolkAmerHol-1999, p. 205
FolkWrldHol-1999, p. 315
OxYear-1999, p. 184

Celebration day: May 1

Celebrated in: Albania, Bangladesh, Czech Republic, Eritrea, Finland, France, Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Guyana, Iraq, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Montenegro, Myanmar, Nepal, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Syria

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May Day (Czech Republic) (Prvého Máje)

May 1

The traditional maypole associated with May Day in western Europe, the United States, and elsewhere plays a central role in the celebration of May 1 in the former Czechoslovakia (now the countries of the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic). On May Day Eve, boys traditionally plant maypoles underneath their girlfriends' windows, so that the girls will wake up and see them first thing in the morning. In some villages, it is customary to raise a maypole beneath the window of the most popular girl in town. The maypole is said to represent the girl's life; the taller it is, the longer she will live. Sometimes it is a small tree, decorated with ribbons and colored eggshells.
Bands give concerts in village squares on May Day, and musicians go from house to house, singing. As a traditional spring festival, May Day has been a time for Czechs and Slovaks to sing, dance, and take pleasure in the beauty of the season.
See also May Day Eve in the Czech Republic

SOURCES:
BkFest-1937, p. 88

Celebration day: May 1

Celebrated in: Czech Republic

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May Day (France)

May 1

In France the celebration of May Day is inextricably linked to flowers. It is considered good luck to wear lilies-of-the-valley on this day, and it is believed that any wishes made while wearing the flowers are bound to come true. Sometimes sprays of pressed lilies are sent to distant friends and loved ones. In southern France the flower vendors sell lilies-of-the-valley on every street corner.
The First of May has political overtones in France as well, and it is a public holiday officially observed as Labor Day. Political demonstrations, speeches, and parades are common on this day—similar to May Day celebrations in England, Russia, and other countries.

CONTACTS:
French Government Tourist Office
444 Madison Ave., Fl. 20
New York, NY 10022
800-391-4909 or 212-838-7800; fax: 212-838-7855
www.franceguide.com

SOURCES:
BkDays-1864, vol. I, p. 579
BkFest-1937, p. 122
BkFestHolWrld-1970, p. 85
DictFolkMyth-1984, p. 696
FestWestEur-1958, p. 37
FolkWrldHol-1999, p. 315

Celebration day: May 1

Celebrated in: France

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May Day (Scandinavia)

May 1

In Scandinavia, the celebration of May Day actually begins on April 30, Walpurgis Night. But the big event of the day is a mock battle between summer and winter, usually represented by two husky young men. Summer always wins, and winter is buried in effigy.
In the Swedish university town of Uppsala, students wearing white caps gather together to hear songs and speeches. Huge bonfires, also associated with Walpurgis Night, are popular in many areas of Sweden. Political speeches, parades of labor organizations, and public demonstrations take place on May 1 as well.
There is a superstition in Norway, dating back to pre-Christian times, about hearing the cuckoo's first call in spring: If the call comes from the south, the year will be good; if it is heard from the north, one will become ill or die in the coming year; if it comes from the west, one will be successful; and if it comes from the east, one will be lucky in love. For this reason, traditional Norwegian calendars show a bird perched in a tree on the mark for May 1.

SOURCES:
BkFest-1937, p. 310
DaysCustFaith-1957, p. 116
FolkWrldHol-1999, pp. 317, 318

Celebration day: May 1

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May Day (Spain)

May 1

Many Spanish May Day customs are believed to have pagan origins ( see Floralia). At the end of April, young people (in some villages, only bachelors) choose a tall pine tree to use as a maypole and set it up in the plaza. They decorate it with ribbons, beads, and eggshells, and as they dance around it they sing May songs. The ceremonies around the tree continue for several days, and on the last day of the month the tree is sold to raise money for refreshments or a dinner.
La Maya refers to both the girls who take part in the May Day celebrations and to the May Queen. It is traditional for a group of boys and girls to choose a queen, sit her on a couch or chair, and dance around her on May Day. They sing love songs, or coplas, in which they ask for food and money from everyone who passes by, and then use the contributions for a feast or banquet.
In some areas, the May Queen has been replaced by a Cruz de Mayo, or May cross. An altar is set up with candles, a white cloth, and a cross decorated with flowers and ribbons. There is dancing around the altar and requests for food and money. Sometimes young girls carry the wooden May crosses through the streets, asking for contributions. It is possible that this custom resulted from the confusion of May Day with the Feast of the Holy Cross, formerly observed by the Roman Catholic Church on May 3 ( see Exaltation of the Cross), and still observed by Catholics in Latin America ( see Día de la Santa Cruz)

CONTACTS:
Tourist Office of Spain
666 Fifth Ave., Fl. 35
New York, NY 10103
212-265-8822; fax: 212-265-8864
www.okspain.org

SOURCES:
DictFolkMyth-1984, p. 1064
FolkWrldHol-1999, p. 318

Celebration day: May 1

Celebrated in: Spain

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May Day 

an international holiday of the working people; a day of solidarity among workers throughout the world, and a day for the combat review of the forces of the working people of all countries. The decision to make May 1 a day of annual demonstrations was made in July 1889 by the Paris Congress of the Second International, to commemorate an action by the workers of Chicago, who organized a strike for May 1, 1886, demanding an eight-hour workday, and held a demonstration that ended in a bloody confrontation with the police. May 1 was celebrated for the first time as an international holiday in 1890 in Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Italy, the USA, Norway, France, Sweden, and several other countries. (In Great Britain, the first May Day celebration was held on May 4, 1890.) The main demand of the first May Day demonstrations was the eight-hour workday. The form of May Day demonstrations and the content of May Day slogans were often the subject of sharp disagreements between representatives of the revolutionary and reformist tendencies in the working-class movement.

The enormous revolutionizing effect of the Great October Socialist Revolution on the international working-class movement was reflected in the character of May Day celebrations, which became more massive and, in many countries, took on a clearly revolutionary, anticapitalist tendency. After World War II (1939–45) the formation of the world socialist system, the breakup of the colonial system of imperialism, and the strengthening of the forces of socialism and democracy throughout the world determined the particular features of May Day celebrations in different countries and regions.

The socialist countries celebrate May Day by mobilizing the working people in the struggle to build socialism and communism. In the developing countries that have been freed from colonial rule, as well as in countries struggling for political independence, May Day is celebrated as a day of struggle against imperialism and internal reaction, for the elimination of colonialism and neocolonialism, and for the establishment in the former colonies of an independent economy and a progressive approach to socioeconomic development. On May Day the working people in the developed capitalist countries advance demands for improved working and living conditions and hold demonstrations in favor of democratic transformations and socialism. In all countries the international brotherhood of peoples and the struggle for peace are celebrated on May Day.

In prerevolutionary Russia and the USSR. In the Russian Empire, May Day was first celebrated in 1890 with a strike by 10,000 workers in Warsaw. In 1891 an illegal May Day meeting of workers was organized in St. Petersburg by M. I. Brusnev’s Social Democratic group. From 1892 to 1894, May Day was marked by meetings and gatherings of workers in St. Petersburg, Tula, Warsaw, Lódz, Vilnius, Kazan, Kiev, and Nizhny Novgorod. Beginning in the mid-1890’s the number of May Day strikes organized by the workers increased steadily. From 1900, May Day was celebrated not only by strikes but also by demonstrations in Kiev, Warsaw, Vilnius, Helsinki, and Kharkov. In 1901, Iskra initiated the publication of the May Day general party proclamation of the RSDLP. May Day demonstrations held in 1901 in St. Petersburg, Tbilisi, Gomel’, Kharkov, and other cities were the first to be accompanied by the slogans “Down with the autocracy!” and “Hail to the republic!” and the first to bring confrontations with troops.

The workers’ May Day demonstrations took on an all-Russian character. In 1905, May Day was celebrated in 177 cities and industrial centers. Peasants, soldiers, and sailors began to join the workers in May Day events. During the years of reaction, May 1 was celebrated primarily with meetings and gatherings. In 1912, after the Lena massacre, 400,000 workers went on strike during the May days. Their main slogans called for the eight-hour workday, confiscation of the landlords’ estates, and the overthrow of the autocracy. In 1913, 420,000 workers joined in May Day strikes; in 1914, 500,000 workers participated. After the victory of the February Revolution of 1917, May Day was freely celebrated for the first time. Millions of working people took to the streets under the Bolshevik slogans “All power to the Soviets!” and “Down with the imperialist war!”

The character and content of May Day celebrations changed with the victory of the Great October Socialist Revolution. On May Day the working people of the Soviet Union show their solidarity with the revolutionary struggles of the working people in capitalist countries and with national liberation movements. They express their determination to use all their power for the struggle for peace and the building of communist society. In the USSR, May 1 was proclaimed a holiday in the 1918 Labor Code of the RSFSR. May 2 was declared a holiday in a decree issued on Apr. 23, 1928, by the Central Executive Committee of the Council of People’s Commissars.

REFERENCES

Lenin, V. I. Poln. sobr. soch., 5th ed. (See Index, part 1, p. 459.)
Pervoe Maia v tsarskoi Rossii 1890–1916 gg.: Sb. dok-tov.[Moscow] 1939.
Pochebut, G. A. Penomai. Leningrad, 1961.