If you were to ask the average American what the phrase “May Day” could be referring to, he or she would most likely answer that it is a distress call. Internationally though, May Day, observed on the first day of May, is a celebration of the labor movement as well as the revival of many ancient customs that are still recognized today.
The idea of May Day festivities reserved for May 1 stretches all the way back to the time before Christ. For the early Druids of the British Isles, May Day was of great importance because it heralded the beginning of spring, and with it, the end of the uncomfortable winter season. In those days, the calendar was such that May Day was actually the dividing point between the first half of the year and the second half, thus being celebrated for signaling that another year is on its way to closure.
With spring came the planting season, which is when the soil finally regained its fertility. The ancient Celts dedicated the celebrations to Bel, the Celtic god of the sun, calling the festivities as a whole “Beltane”. Villagers would march to the top of hills, torches ablaze, and set fire to wooden wheels, which they would then roll down into the fields.
The Christianization of the British Isles led to a more secular take on the holiday, which was still popular among the British. Schools and churches observed May Day, and along with it the various celebrations that had been modified from the practices of their ancestors.
A popular communal festivity was the creation of the Maypole, which was a tall wooden pole covered in flowers that featured colorful ribbons dangling from the top. These ribbons were used in the traditional dances around the Maypole, in which the colors of the ribbons and the movement of the dancers would create beautiful imagery. In the 1500s, the creation of the Maypole was an undertaking by the entire village, and often the subject of rivalry between neighboring villages.
Somewhat reminiscent of modern rival universities and their antics, villages at that time would try to steal other villages’ Maypoles, resulting in hostility and sometimes violence. The tradition itself, though, fell upon hard times in the later half of the 16th century due to opposition by the clergy and the evangelical Protestants, who sought to denounce the Maypoles as pagan symbols and causes for an increase in contemporarily scandalous activities, like drinking and festivity on Sundays. Many areas of Britain saw the Maypoles being banned, a ban which held fast until the later half of the 17th century, when, as a symbol of the English Revolution, the tradition was noisily revived.
Today, the Maypole is regarded as an integral part of British history and culture, and celebrations of May Day revolving around the Maypole are still held.
Other such traditions, such as the crowning of the Queen of the May, were upheld in Britain. Across Europe, other traditions dating back several centuries are practiced. In Germany, a celebration of the Walpurgisnacht, or the Night of the Witches, is observed on the day before May Day. The celebration has its roots in Pagan spring customs, which were based upon Norse mythology, specifically the death of Odin. Whether it is the lighting of the traditional Beltane bonfires, or the more Christianized Easter fires, the night revolves around the ancient Celtic tradition of honoring the god of the sun.
Similar festivities occur in Scandinavia and the Balkans, of varying magnitudes and levels of relative importance among their traditional holidays. In Finland, for example, it is one of the biggest carnival-style holidays of the year, as far as the size of the celebrations is concerned. French tradition is radically different, stemming from the legend that King Charles IX received a lily of the valley as a gift, which was purported to have the effect of a lucky charm. He began to give them to the ladies of his court each year as a symbol of springtime. Today, the lilies are still offered as gifts on May Day.
As far as America is concerned, May Day celebrations are a relic of European colonization. Although it is not necessarily considered a major holiday, it is observed across parts of the United States. Some parts of the country observe a tradition revolving around May Day baskets, small containers filled with flowers or candy, where the baskets are left on doorsteps and the doorbell is rung. The recipient of the May Day basket is supposed to catch the person who left them the basket, who traditionally runs away. If caught, the two must exchange a kiss.
Hawaii has a more extensive May Day celebration, although it is influenced more by the areas’ own personal tradition. A 1920 poet coined the term “Lei Day” as a replacement, in spirit, of standard May Day celebration, and it has come to be accepted by government and people alike. Lei Day festivities revolve around the celebration of springtime in Hawaii, much like the ancient Celtic take on the holiday. But specific to Lei Day is the traditional song “May Day is Lei Day in Hawai’i”, the song whose melody now lends itself to the hula song still performed.
An overarching theme of modern May Day celebration is the honoring of the worker. As a day of recognition for the various labor movements across the world and all that they have achieved, May Day is synonymous and interchangeable with International Workers’ Day. Specifically, International Workers’ Day commemorates the Haymarket Riot in Chicago. Held in 1886, the riot began as a peaceful rally, but quickly became violent, resulting in the deaths of police officers and rally members alike. Since then, the day has become a popular time for calling out various socioeconomic problems that need attention, in the form of riots, rallies, and conventions aimed towards helping the labor movement.
International Workers’ Day frequently sees marches from those in the labor class, as well as their representative trade unions. In the United States, this usually occurs instead on Labor Day, and efforts to connect the first day of May with its international counterpart have failed. Still, many groups see fit to bring attention to their issues on International Workers’ Day, such as the Latino immigrant groups, who organized the Great American Boycott in 2005, and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which plans to move no cargo on May 1, 2008. In Los Angeles in the last few years, the people have used May Day as a day to march and draw attention to issues of immigrant workers.
Some groups have managed to combine the Pagan roots of the holiday with its modern international significance, such as the In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theater, which organizes the May Day Parade and Pageant in Minneapolis, attracting tens of thousands of participants.
In the United States, May Day as a holiday is not a widely celebrated event. However, its rich cultural and traditional roots dating back to the time before Christ and its international significance, both in its traditional sense and in the context of International Workers’ Day, are worth noting. While the “May Day” as a distress call is important, perhaps next time you hear the phrase, you’ll associate it with the ancient holiday (hopefully without any negative consequences on the safety of the person who is saying it).
