May Day is one of the most popular public holidays in the world, enjoyed by millions of people in more than 170 countries worldwide. On May Day, in many cities around the world, public celebrations of the day are organized with fireworks and other displays in the background. In addition to a wide public holiday parade, parades are also held with cars displaying various banners and signs and numerous performances by live bands that perform under the influence of fireworks.
May Day is based on the traditional Christian martyrdom. As May Day celebrations developed over time, the date was changed from the original Christian martyrdom in the seventh century to honor the memory of St. Vitus. While there are many different reasons for the beginning of May Day celebrations, it is possible that the tradition of displaying St. Vitus’ image began as a way to honor those who had died fighting against pagans, in what is now the predominantly Christian country of Romania. The most popular celebrations in Europe on this day are France, Italy, Germany and Spain, although public celebrations of all countries take place on May Day everywhere.
In modern history, May Day has been associated with socialist and anti-war demonstrations. For years, May Day was a public holiday in much of Central America because of the strong resistance to U.S. colonization in Mexico. May Day history in these areas essentially began after World War II, when the U.S. saw a rise in May Day demonstrations against the presence of U.S. soldiers in their cities. After the end of the war, May Day became associated with labor and progressive politics.
Labor unions and students became the focus of public attention on this day as employers tried to reduce their costs and increase their profitability by closing down production plants and factories, often paying workers very low wages and offering poor working conditions. In response to the anger and solidarity demonstrated by many May Day organizers and participants, the U.S. government passed the Worker’s Freedom Act in 1958, creating a more secure working environment for many May Day participants.
International May Day History
The Workers’ Freedom Act didn’t stop anger or hostility, however, and after persistent lobbying by civil rights groups, the U.S. government finally included May Day as a legitimate public holiday. While not every state recognizes May Day as a labor holiday, the majority does, and many local municipalities make it a regular Labor Day festival. While not an officially recognized national holiday, May Day continues to be recognized as a special national day of action by millions of people, especially during the traditionally-filled summer months. Regardless of whether you live in a traditional labor day city or are a resident of a more liberal, pro-labor city, you can still take part in the May Day festivities.
- May Day is one of the four ancient Celtic cross-quarter days, making it an astronomical holiday as it falls between the March equinox and June solstice. Originating from its Celtic name, “Belthane,” Beltane was a spring celebration that included dancing, singing, special bonfires, and house doors and animals would be decorated with yellow May flowers and ribbons. During this time, in various communities in Ireland, people would visit special wells and the Bethane dew was believed to bring beauty and youthfulness to those around it.
- In the Middle Ages, English villages had homes with maypoles from rejoice and celebrations of May Day. Villagers would go into the woods to find maypoles set up from towns and cities. Because maypoles came in different sizes, villages would compete with each other to see who had the tallest one. People would dance around them because the pole symbolized male fertility as baskets and wreaths symbolized female fertility.
A well-known and highly visible symbol of May Day is the Statue of Liberty, which sits on Manhattan’s Broadway Pier. Designed by Spanish architect Antonio Delgado Pacheco, the statue is a marvel of modernist design, with stylized renderings of the Statue of Liberty and other American landmarks included. According to legend, Italian immigrants were not allowed to build the Statue of Liberty until after it was completed, due to fears that their culture would be diluted by the Americans who would construct it.
A plaque on the Statue of Liberty notes the inspiration for the statue and on its base is displayed the May Day banner from Italy which introduced the concept of May Day. Today, thousands of visitors watch the world go by as they cross the Brooklyn Bridge to attend the worldwide celebrations of May Day.
Other important events of the May Day Celebration include the world renowned St. Patrick’s Day Parade, which has been running for over one hundred years and sees participants traveling down Times Square wearing green dresses and green hats, while passing by thousands of shops selling May Day items, including toys, clothing, candy, and of course, beer. The best time to visit St. Patrick’s Day is in the morning, when the streets are clean of the morning snow, and when the temperature has not risen above freezing.
To keep with tradition, the parade includes a number of shamans who practice ancient rituals, including the smoking of pipe tobacco by using a hook to release smoke into the air. Other popular activities include parades through Manhattan, which is a lot of fun and bring back memories of childhood when neighbors gathered together for neighborhood cookouts and general revelry.
