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May Day

May Day

May Day occurs on May 1 and refers to several public holidays in many countries. May Day is synonymous with International Workers' Day, or 'Labor Day', and is a day of political demonstrations and celebrations worldwide. May Day is also a traditional holiday in many cultures, with ancient pagan roots.

Top Questions Asked on ChaCha.com for May Day

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  1. Why is may 1st called may day?

    People celebrate several different things that happened on Ma...

  2. Where did the term may day come from? !Always smooth?

    The origin of May Day dates even before the birth of Christ. ...

  3. What is the origin and purpose of May Day?

    May Day (5/1) was a pagan holiday celebrating summer. In mny ...

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About May Day

May Day can refer to various labor celebrations conducted on May 1 that commemorate the fight for the eight hour day. May Day in this regard is called International Workers' Day, or 'Labor Day'. The idea for a workers holiday began in Australia in 1856, although the commemoration of May Day as International Workers' Day received its inspiration from the U.S. labor movement. Nowadays Labor Day traditionally occurs on the first Monday in September in the United States.

The labor movement was started on May 1, 1886 in United States. Some labor organizations in the country went on strike because they wanted 8-hour working days. After some time they gained a successful result. When 8-hour working days became a reality, it became a standard in many countries around the world. Labor Day’ or 'May Day' was therefore selected as a day for rallies, processions and speeches.

But May Day has even earlier traditions associated with it. It has its roots in pagan rites and pre-Christian celebrations. The earliest May Day celebrations appeared with the festival of Flora, the Roman Goddess of flowers, and the Walpurgis Night celebrations of the Germanic countries. It is also associated with the Gaelic Beltane. Some remnants of these pagan celebrations exist as the tradition of dancing the maypole and crowning of the Queen of the May still occur in many countries on May Day.

The day was a traditional summer holiday in many pre-Christian European pagan cultures. While February 1 was the first day of Spring, May 1 was the first day of summer; hence, the summer solstice on June 25 (now June 21) was Midsummer. And some of these old celebrations still occur as those in Germany and Finland celebrate Walpurgisnacht and people in Ireland and Scotland celebrate the feast of Bealtaine. While in other countries, dancing around the maypole is a common tradition.

Many pagan celebrations were abandoned or Christianized during the process of conversion in Europe. In the Roman Catholic tradition, May is observed as Mary's month, and in these circles May Day is usually a celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Mary's head will often be adorned with flowers in a May crowning.

Another meaning of May Day or 'mayday' is found in its use as a distress signal in radio communications. It originated in the French expression 'venez m'aider', or 'come and help me'. Police forces, air forces, transportation organizations, and firefighters use it, but always in three times in succession 'mayday-mayday-mayday' to alert people that a life-threatening situation is occurring.

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May Day