May Day

• 1. Ancient Roman Origins

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  The Floralia festival opened its doors from the 27th of April to the 3rd of May during the Roman Republic era. Ovid described how hares and goats were released as part of these festivities. Persius wrote that crowds were pelted with vetches, beans, and lupins during the event. A ritual called the Florifertum occurred on either the 27th of April or the 3rd of May. During this ritual, a bundle of wheat ears was carried into a shrine. The festival concluded with competitive events and spectacles. A sacrifice to Flora marked the end of the celebrations. The Maiouma festival celebrated Dionysus and Aphrodite every three years. Records show expenses for the month-long festival were appropriated by Emperor Commodus in the 2nd century AD. John Malalas chronicled the event as a nocturnal dramatic festival known as Orgies. Enough money was set aside by the government for torches and lights to cover a 30-day festival. The celebration included splendorous banquets and offerings. Its reputation for licentiousness caused it to be suppressed during the reign of Emperor Constantine.

• 2. Medieval European Traditions

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  In the Germanic countries, Walpurgis Night commemorated the official canonization of Saint Walpurga on the 1st of May 870. Folklorist Jack Santino noted that her day and its traditions are traceable to pre-Christian celebrations. In Gaelic culture, the 1st of May was the celebration of Beltaine or Cétshamhain. First attested in 900 AD, the celebration focused on the symbolic use of fire to bless cattle. This custom continued into the early 19th century when cattle would jump over fires. People also leaped over the fires for luck. In Sweden, bonfires and outdoor celebrations occurred on May Eve or Walpurgis Night. Up until the 19th century, mock battles between Summer and Winter took place on May Day itself. Sir James George Frazer wrote about two troops of young men meeting as if for mortal combat. One troop was led by a representative of Winter clad in furs who threw snowballs. The other troop was commanded by a representative of Summer covered with fresh leaves and flowers. The ceremony ended with a feast after the party of Summer came off victorious.

• 3. Regional Folk Customs

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  In rural regions of Germany, especially the Harz Mountains, Walpurgisnacht celebrations included bonfires and the wrapping of a Maibaum. Young people used this opportunity to party while families got fresh air on the day itself. In the Rhineland, a maypole was delivered to the house of a girl the night before. The tree typically came from a love interest though white streamers signaled dislike. Women placed roses or rice in the form of a heart at the house of their beloved one. In Tyrol, all houses were fumigated with juniper and rue incense during the last three days of April. At sunset on May Day, people held a ceremony called burning out the witches. Men carried lighted bundles of herbs fastened on poles while women carried censers. They ran seven times round the houses and village so that witches would be smoked out. In Ireland, special bonfires were kindled whose flames had protective powers. People walked around or between bonfires and sometimes leaped over the flames. All household fires were doused then re-lit from the Bealtaine bonfire. For almost two centuries, the Dublin suburb of Finglas was well known for its May Games. Major Sirr wrote in a letter on the 2nd of May 1803 that there was no disturbance during the old custom of Maying.

• 4. Religious Syncretism

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  Since the 18th century, many Roman Catholics observed May devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In works of art, school skits, and so forth, Mary's head is often adorned with flowers in a May crowning. 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. The government permits individuals and workers' organisations to sell them tax-free on that single day. the 1st of May is also one of two feast days of the Catholic patron saint of workers St Joseph the Worker. This date was chosen by Pope Pius XII in 1955 as a counterpoint to communist International Workers Day celebrations. In Portugal, Maias is the dominant naming in Northern territories where people place yellow flowers of broom on doors or gates. The origin of this tradition can be traced to the Catholic Church story of Mary and Joseph fleeing to Egypt. It was said that when Herod's soldiers arrived they found every door decorated with brooms.

• 5. Modern National Variations

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  In Finland, Walpurgis night is one of the five biggest holidays along with Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. Celebrations typically centre on the consumption of sima, sparkling wine and other alcoholic beverages. Student traditions are one of the main characteristics of Vappu since the end of the 19th century. Many university-preparatory high school alumni wear black and white student caps. One tradition is to drink sima along with freshly cooked funnel cakes. In Greece, the most common aspect of modern May Day celebrations involves the preparation of a flower wreath from wild flowers. The flowers are placed on the wreath against a background of green leaves. The wreath is hung either on the entrance to the family house or on a balcony until midsummer night. On that night, the flower wreaths are set alight in bonfires known as Saint John's fires. Youths leap over the flames consuming the flower wreaths. In Hungary, the Majális was usually held in a nearby forest attended by the whole town. There were sack-races, tree climbing, wrestling, strength tests, horse races, singing, dancing and military songs. It was a day of relaxing and walking in nature. In smaller settlements like Pilisszentkereszt, communities set up a May Pole.

• 6. North American Adaptations

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  In Toronto, various Morris Dancing troops 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 in British Columbia. The longest continually observed May Day in the British Commonwealth is held in New Westminster. There, the first May Day celebration was held on the 4th of May 1870. Early European settlers brought their May Day traditions with them to the United States. In some parts of the United States, small baskets filled with flowers or treats are 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 nineteenth and early twentieth century. This tradition continues at Bryn Mawr College and Brenau University to this day. In Minneapolis, the May Day Parade draws around 50,000 people to Powderhorn Park. On the 1st of May itself, local Morris Dance sides converge on an overlook of the Mississippi River at dawn. In Hawaii, May Day is known as Lei Day set aside to celebrate island culture. 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.