May Day / Labour Day

May Day / Labour Day Quick Facts - NL

AKA NameInternational Worker's Day, Labour Day, Mei Dag / Dag van der Arbeid
HashtagsCompiled on#MayDay, #MayDay2022
Related Hashtags#MAY
2023 Date1 May 2023
2024 Date1 May 2024
May Day

May Day History

May Day marks the halfway point between the first day of spring and the summer solstice. This day can be traced back to the days of the Romans as it involved many pagan rituals and ancient customs. These were slowly phased out with the arrival of Christianity. Festivals, dances, and rituals related to agriculture and fertility were practiced by many Germanic and European countries. May Day is observed annually on the 1st of May.

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May Day / Labour Day Facts & Quotes

  • Roman Catholics celebrate May as Mary's month and May Day is celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
  • May Day is also recognized as International Worker's Day, or Labor Day. This day commemorates workers rights and the labor movement. One popular cause that this day commemorates is the eight-hour workday.
  • During the Haymarket Affair of 1886, more than a dozen people were killed after a 3-day strike and rally. US Labor Unions had agreed upon a general nationwide strike on May 1, 1886 in support of an eight-hour work day. One such rally, held outside the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company, Chicago, Illinois, became violent when police fired into the crowd of striking workers. Outraged, the worker's organized another rally the next day at Haymarket Square. The rally became violent when a bomb was thrown into a crowd of police. Seven officers were killed. A very public trial ensued which ended in the public hanging of four anarchists.
  • In France, it is customary to give a sweet smelling flower called the spring of lily of the valley (a symbol of springtime) on May 1st. The tradition started in 1561 when King Charles IX of France received a lily of the valley as a lucky charm.
  • All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence. – Martin Luther King Jr.

May Day Top Events and Things to Do

  • Dance around a Maypole. Decorate a tall pole with garlands of flowers and ribbons. Have a group of friends each take a ribbon and dance around the pole, interweaving the ribbons to form a braided affect. The braid can be undone by retracing one's steps.
  • Have a picnic outdoors in the sunshine.
  • Attend a May Day Festival.
  • Watch a film relating to worker’s rights. Our favorite films on the topic:
    1) The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
    2) Office Space (1999)
    3) Caesar Chavez (2014)

May Day / Labour Day References and Related Sites

catholicculture.org: Overview of Month of May
marxists.org: May Day

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