Discover The Traditions of May Day

May Day began as a Pagan holiday associated with the Celtic festival of Beltane. Falling exactly half a year from Nov. 1, the Celts believed the day marked the end of the winter half of the year and celebrated with Beltane, a feast denoting the start of summer. The Romans then absorbed the tradition and spread it around Europe.

Later, Germans also celebrated May Day, but for a different reason. May 1 fell during the Walpurgis Night festival, which was named after and celebrated Saint Walburga.

May Day gained most of its current reputation, though, from the Medieval English version and traditions. To mark the beginning of the fruitful season, people would go “a-maying,” gathering flowers and greenery. Some of these plants and flowers, along with ribbons and bright colors, would then be used to decorate the maypole, which served as the center point of May Day festivities. Since the holiday was associated with fertility, sexuality and paganism, it came under attack in England the mid-17th century. When it was reinstated, the church and country associated it with the Virgin Mary.

Today, dancing around the maypole remains one of the most well-known May Day traditions. The English are also responsible for the tradition of crowning a May Queen. The holiday is still prominent in the United Kingdom, although it is now celebrated on the first Monday of the month.

May Day has also been traditionally dedicated to political protests and acknowledgement of labor. On May 1, 1886 unions across the U.S. went on strike to demand an eight-hour work day. The day is also considered International Workers’ Day, and protests on the behalf of illegal immigrant workers in the U.S. have been held on May 1 in recent years.

Although current celebrations of May Day in the U.S. are usually understated, many cities still put up and decorate maypoles and host festivals. Many of these communities focus on multi-cultural events and immigrant acknowledgement.

Whitney Homans writes for ApartmentGuide.com.