The earliest known May celebrations appeared with the Floralia, a festival of Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers, held from the 27th of April to the 3rd of May during the Roman Republic era. This ancient event was far from a quiet garden party; it opened with theatrical performances and included the release of hares and goats as part of the festivities. The Roman poet Persius wrote that crowds were pelted with vetches, beans, and lupins, creating a chaotic and vibrant atmosphere. A ritual called the Florifertum was performed on either the 27th of April or the 3rd of May, during which a bundle of wheat ears was carried into a shrine, though it remains unclear if this devotion was made to Flora or Ceres. The festival concluded with competitive events and spectacles, culminating in a sacrifice to Flora. Another festival, the Maiouma, was celebrated at least as early as the 2nd century AD, when records show expenses for the month-long festival were appropriated by Emperor Commodus. This nocturnal dramatic festival, held every three years, was known as the Mysteries of Dionysus and Aphrodite. It was a time of all-night revels, with enough money set aside by the government for torches, lights, and other expenses to cover a 30-day festival of splendorous banquets and offerings. However, its reputation for licentiousness caused it to be suppressed during the reign of Emperor Constantine, though a less debauched version was briefly restored during the reigns of Arcadius and Honorius, only to be suppressed again during the same period.
Bonfires and the Celtic Fire
During the Middle Ages, May Eve was celebrated in much of northern Europe with the lighting of bonfires at night. In the Germanic countries, this became Walpurgis Night, commemorating the official canonization of Saint Walpurga on the 1st of May 870. Folklorist Jack Santino notes that her day and its traditions almost certainly are traceable to pre-Christian celebrations that took place at this time. In Gaelic culture, the 1st of May was the celebration of Beltaine or Cétshamhain, while for the Welsh it was Calan Mai or Cyntefin. First attested in 900 AD, the celebration mainly focused on the symbolic use of fire to bless cattle and other livestock as they were moved to summer pastures. This custom continued into the early 19th century, during which time cattle would be made to jump over fires to protect their milk from being stolen by fairies. People would also leap over the fires for luck. In Ireland, May Day has long been celebrated as the festival of Bealtaine, marking the beginning of summer and historically when cattle were driven out to the summer pastures. Special bonfires were kindled, whose flames, smoke, and ashes were deemed to have protective powers. The people and their cattle would walk around or between bonfires, and sometimes leap over the flames or embers. All household fires would be doused and then re-lit from the Bealtaine bonfire. These gatherings would be accompanied by a feast, and some of the food and drink would be offered to the spirits or fairies. Doors, windows, byres, and cattle would be decorated with yellow May flowers, perhaps because they evoked fire. In parts of Ireland, people would make a May Bush, typically a thorn bush or branch decorated with flowers, ribbons, bright shells, and rushlights. Holy wells were also visited, while Bealtaine dew was thought to bring beauty and maintain youthfulness.
The best known modern May Day traditions, observed both in Europe and North America, include dancing around the maypole and crowning the Queen of May. Fading in popularity since the late 20th century is the tradition of giving of May baskets, small baskets of sweets or flowers, usually left anonymously on neighbours' doorsteps. The earliest records of maypole celebrations date to the 14th century, and by the 15th century the maypole tradition was well established in southern Britain. On the 1st of May 1515, Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon rode from Greenwich Palace to have breakfast in an arbour constructed in a wood at Shooter's Hill. Catherine and her ladies were dressed in Spanish-style riding gear, Henry was in green velvet. The royal guard appeared in disguise as Robin Hood and his men. There was a pageant chariot or car with Lady May and Lady Flora, followed by a masque and dancing. The chronicle writer Edward Hall recorded the event as a Maying. Writer Philip Stubbs described English May Day celebrations in the 1580s, involving a particularly large Maypole. They had twenty or forty yoke of oxen, every ox having a sweet nosegay of flowers tied to the tip of its horns, and these oxen drew home this maypole, which was covered all over with flowers and herbs, bound about with strings, from the top to the bottom, and sometimes painted with variable colours, with two or three hundred men, women and children following it with great devotion. And thus being reared up, with handkerchiefs and flags streaming at the top, they strewed the ground around about, bound green boughs about it, set up summer halls, bowers and arbours hard by it. And then they fell to banquet and feast, to leap and dance about it. May Day was abolished and its celebration banned by Puritan parliaments during the Interregnum, but reinstated with the restoration of Charles II in 1660. Traditional celebrations continue in some places, some with unbroken records for over a century, including Ickwell May Day, Knutsford Royal May Day, and Lustleigh May Day.
The Puritan Ban and Restoration
May Day was abolished and its celebration banned by Puritan parliaments during the Interregnum, but reinstated with the restoration of Charles II in 1660. This period of suppression highlights the deep cultural divide between the Puritans, who viewed the festivities as pagan and immoral, and the traditionalists who saw them as essential to the community's spiritual and social health. The ban was not merely a political maneuver but a reflection of the intense religious fervor of the time, which sought to purge England of what were seen as superstitious and licentious practices. The restoration of the holiday under Charles II was a symbolic return to the old ways, a celebration of the monarchy and the traditional social order. Despite the ban, many traditions survived in rural areas, where the Puritan influence was less strong. The Maypole, in particular, remained a potent symbol of community and continuity. In some regions, the Maypole was erected in secret, guarded at night to prevent it from being taken away by rivals or toppled by a rival's courting team. The tradition of setting up Maypoles in several places in the town was usually set on May Day or Pentecost. Sometimes they were just tied to the fence, but most of the time they were planted in the ground. The trees were carved and erected in secret, usually in the dead of night. The aim was always to go out with the girls, the boys set them up, and it was danced around together. The tradition of setting up Maypoles in several places in the town was usually set on May Day or Pentecost. Sometimes they were just tied to the fence, but most of the time they were planted in the ground. The trees were carved and erected in secret, usually in the dead of night. The aim was always to go out with the girls, the boys set them up, and it was danced around together.
The Flowering of the North
In France, on the 1st of May 1561, King Charles IX of France received a lily of the valley as a lucky charm. He decided to offer a lily of the valley each year to the ladies of the court. At the beginning of the 20th century, it became custom to give a sprig of lily of the valley, a symbol of springtime, on the 1st of May. The government permits individuals and workers' organisations to sell them tax-free on that single day. Nowadays, people may present loved ones either with bunches of lily of the valley or dog rose flowers. In Finland, Walpurgis night is one of the five biggest holidays along with Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve, Easter, and Midsummer. Walpurgis witnesses the biggest carnival-style festival held in Finland's cities and towns. The celebrations, which begin on the evening of the 30th of April and continue on the 1st of May, typically centre on the consumption of sima, sparkling wine and other alcoholic beverages. Student traditions, particularly those of engineering students, are one of the main characteristics of Vappu. Since the end of the 19th century, this traditional upper-class feast has been appropriated by university students. Many university-preparatory high school alumni wear the black and white student cap and many higher education students wear student coveralls. One tradition is to drink sima, a home-made low-alcohol mead, along with freshly cooked funnel cakes. In Estonia, May Day or Spring Day is a national holiday celebrating the arrival of spring. More traditional festivities take place throughout the night before and into the early hours of the 1st of May, on the Walpurgis Night. The tradition of erecting maypoles exists also in West-Estonia, but instead on the 1st of May, celebrations take place in Jaanipäev. In Portugal, Maias is a superstition throughout Portugal, with special focus on the northern territories and rarely elsewhere. Maias is the dominant naming in Northern Portugal, but it may be referred to by other names, including Dia das Bruxas, O Burro, or the last of April, as the local traditions preserved to this day occur on that evening only. People put the yellow flowers of broom, the bushes are known as giestas. The flowers of the bush are known as Maias, which are placed on doors or gates and every doorway of houses, windows, granaries, currently also cars, which the populace collect on the evening of the 30th of April when the Portuguese brooms are blooming, to defend those places from bad spirits, witches and the evil eye. The placement of the May flower or bush in the doorway must be done before midnight.
The American and Hawaiian Variations
Early European settlers of the Americas brought their May Day traditions with them, and May Day is still celebrated in many parts of the United States, with customs that vary from region to region. In some parts of the United States, May baskets are made. These are small baskets usually filled with flowers or treats and left at someone's doorstep. The giver rings the bell and runs away. May Day celebrations were common at women's colleges and academic institutions in the late 19th and early 20th century, a tradition that continues at Bryn Mawr College and Brenau University to this day. In Minneapolis, the May Day Parade and Festival is presented annually on the first Sunday in May, and draws around 50,000 people to Powderhorn Park. The festival was originated by In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre and is now decentralized and community-run. On the 1st of May itself, local Morris Dance sides converge on an overlook of the Mississippi River at dawn, and then spend the remainder of the day dancing around the metro area. Morris dancers in the US have continued the English custom of dancing the sun up on May Day, dancing at sunrise to welcome in the sun and the summer season. In 2024, Morris dancers danced the sun up in Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin. In Hawaii, May Day is also known as Lei Day, and it is normally set aside as a day to celebrate island culture in general and the culture of the Native Hawaiians in particular. Invented by poet and local newspaper columnist Don Blanding, the first Lei Day was celebrated on the 1st of May 1927 in Honolulu. Leonard Red and Ruth Hawk composed May Day Is Lei Day in Hawai'i, the traditional holiday song. In Toronto, on the morning of the 1st of May, various Morris Dancing troops from Toronto and Hamilton gather on the road by Grenadier Cafe, in High Park to dance in the May. The dancers and crowd then gather together and sing traditional May Day songs such as Hal-An-Tow and Padstow. Celebrations often take place not on the 1st of May but during the Victoria Day long weekend, later in the month and when the weather is likely to be better. The longest continually observed May Day in the British Commonwealth is held in the city of New Westminster, BC. There, the first May Day celebration was held on the 4th of May 1870.
The Workers' Day Counterpoint
International Workers' Day observed on the 1st of May is also called May Day, but the two have different histories. Since the 18th century, many Roman Catholics have observed May and May Day with various May devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In works of art, school skits, and so forth, Mary's head will often be adorned with flowers in a May crowning. The 1st of May is also one of two feast days of the Catholic patron saint of workers St Joseph the Worker, a carpenter, husband to Mother Mary, and foster father of Jesus. Replacing another feast to St. Joseph, this date was chosen by Pope Pius XII in 1955 as a counterpoint to the communist International Workers' Day celebrations on May Day. The choice of the 1st of May for this feast was a deliberate move to reclaim the day for religious and traditional purposes, countering the political significance of the workers' holiday. The Catholic Church's emphasis on the 1st of May as a day of devotion to Mary and St. Joseph the Worker reflects a broader effort to integrate the day into the Christian calendar, transforming it from a purely pagan or secular celebration into a day of spiritual significance. This integration has helped to preserve many of the traditional customs associated with May Day, such as the crowning of the May Queen and the dancing around the maypole, while also giving them a new layer of meaning. The Catholic Church's influence on May Day celebrations has been significant, particularly in countries with strong Catholic traditions, such as Italy, Spain, and Portugal. In Italy, it is called Calendimaggio or cantar maggio, a seasonal feast held to celebrate the arrival of spring. The event takes its name from the period in which it takes place, that is, the beginning of May, from the Latin kalendae maiae. The Calendimaggio is a tradition still alive today in many regions of Italy as an allegory of the return to life and rebirth. In Sicily, the Albero della Cuccagna is held during the month of May, a feast celebrated to commemorate the victory over the Athenians led by Nicias. However, Angelo de Gubernatis, in his work Mythology of Plants, believes that without doubt the festival was previous to that of said victory. It is a celebration that dates back to ancient peoples, and is very integrated with the rhythms of nature, such as the Celts, Etruscans and Ligures, in which the arrival of summer was of great importance.