May Day (May 1) is celebrated as a spring festival in many countries. It marks the revival of life in early spring after winter. May Day celebrations may go back to the spring festivals of ancient Egypt and India.
The English and other peoples whom the Romans conquered developed their May Day festivals from the Roman festival called Floralia. In the April festival of Floralia, the Romans gathered flowers to honor the goddess of springtime, Flora. Eventually, Floralia was combined with a Celtic celebration called Beltane, which was held on May 1. The Celts believed that on Beltane, the fairies were especially active.
In medieval times, May Day became the favorite holiday of many English villages. People gathered flowers to decorate their homes and churches. They sang spring carols and received gifts in return. They chose a king and queen of May. Villagers danced around a Maypole, holding the ends of ribbons that streamed from its top. They wove the ribbons around the pole until it was covered with bright colors. Dew collected on May Day morning was said to restore youth.
Other European countries had their own May Day customs. In some, the day became a time for courting. In Italy, for example, boys serenaded their sweethearts. In Switzerland, a May pine tree was placed under a girl’s window. In France, May Day had religious importance. The French considered the month of May sacred to the Virgin Mary. They enshrined young girls as May queens in their churches. The May queens led processions in honor of the Virgin Mary.
The Puritans disapproved of May Day, and the day has never been celebrated with the same enthusiasm in the United States as in Britain. But in many American towns and cities, children celebrate the day with dancing and singing. They often gather flowers in handmade paper baskets and hang them on the doorknobs of the homes of friends and neighbors on May Day morning. At May Day parties, children select May queens, dance around the Maypole, and sing May Day songs. May is also celebrated in the Roman Catholic Church by electing May queens who wear flowers and lead parades called May processions. Such customs are probably pre-Christian in origin.
In 1889, a congress of world Socialist parties held in Paris voted to support the United States labor movement’s demands for an eight-hour day. It chose May 1, 1890, as a day of demonstrations in favor of the eight-hour day. Afterward, May 1 became a holiday called Labor Day in many nations. It resembles the September holiday in the United States (see Labor Day ). Government and labor organizations sponsor parades, speeches, and other celebrations to honor working people. The holiday has had special importance in socialist and Communist countries.
