This year, May Day comes at the end of a six-year recession in Greece and in the midst of an economic crisis, so governments across the European continent are bracing for large protest marches. Athens' annual May Day March, which traditionally begins outside of the Greek parliament in the city's main square, will once again probably end in clashes between police and hard-core protesters (as it has every year).
Greece, which some Leftists claim has lost its democracy, is probably the only country in the world where strikes and protests are a national pastime. People protest freely in this country and each event has its own rhythm and purpose. Insignificant protests occur daily, and larger gatherings with many different causes and grievances are organized every so often as well: (Example: Anti-American, anti-globalization, anti-capitalist, anti-war, pro-worker, pro-immigrant, pro-animal rights, etc.). In some cases, separate protests that are organized by different groups -but that are in the same geographic area- meld together and then separate again, like globs of oil floating in water. And the protests held on May Day are no exception.
The history of traditional May Day celebrations in Europe dates back to before the time of Christ. The day is actually considered a pagan holiday and let us not forget that the word May is derived from the Greek word Maia who was a Goddess in Ancient Olympia.
In Greece, aside from the protests it is also a day for celebrating flowers, and what better way to celebrate then making flower wreaths. According to tradition, women and young girls go from house to house to steal flowers, or flower pots from the gardens of their neighbors. They then use these flowers to make wreaths, which they then hang on their front porches for prosperity and luck. The flower wreaths themselves, as well as all the other flora that is used to decorate Greek homes today represent the birth of life and nature as well as the blessing every home needs for a bountiful season.
May Day is also an excuse for Greek people to take a small road trip to the countryside. While there they enjoy quality time with family and friends and most importantly they pick wildflowers, herbs and even edible greens. Also they make garlands. Quite interestingly, making garlands has been a traditional custom in Europe dating back to ancient time, and till this day it continues to be an important part of the May Day. (The garlands represent the ushering in of summer).
Another custom involves the gathering and erecting of the maypole. Locals go into the woods gather the required wood needed to make the base, and then they decorate it with flowers and garlands. They then set up the maypole in the center of their towns and/or villages and the celebration begins. People dance and sing around the maypole to celebrate the day. When the day draws near, people then light up a bonfire and begin leaping over the flames for luck. (Of course before they do this, they wet their clothes and bodies thoroughly for safety).
International Customs on May Day
ENGLAND - In England, May Day traditions include university students in pagan rituals, playing madrigal music, and dancing at sunrise in celebrations at Durham and Oxford. A Jack in the Green carnival has been revived in towns such as Whitstable, Rochester, Hastings, Bristol, and Oxford, where the traditional figure dressed as a tree leads a parade of Morris dancers and others. Hordes of motorbike riders set off from London each year in the Maydayrun and travel the 55 miles to Hastings to join its Jack in the Green festivities. There is maypole dancing and plenty of singing and dancing in the streets. Other Cornish towns hold a Flower Boat Ritual, where a model boat is taken past decorated houses to the beach and set afloat. Maypole dancing and Morris dancing are popular too.
GERMANY - Germany has a May Day slogan of ‘Tanz in den Mai’ or ‘Dance into May’. On the eve of May Day, there are traditional pagan ceremonies such as bonfires and maypole decorating. In western areas, males send their girlfriends a tree or maypole adorned with streamers. May Day itself is popular for picnics and other outings.
FRANCE - In France, men give women a lily sprig, a ritual that started when Charles IX did this on 1 May 1561. A woman traditionally kisses the man who gave her the branch. Vendors set up stalls and sell these sprays and don’t have to pay tax on the profits.
FINLAND - Finland starts May Day festivities with its Walpurgis Night on the eve of the holiday. The event is one of the country’s three largest celebrations, the others being New Year’s Eve and the midsummer Juhannas, and there are bonfires and plenty of eating, drinking, and partying, with festivities carrying over to the next day. Similar nights are held in Sweden, Germany, Estonia, and Czech Republic. Large picnics are organized in Finnish
SPAIN & PORTUGAL - Spain and Portugal have celebrated May Day as a labour day since the end of their dictatorship eras several decades ago. In Italy, traditional May Day celebrations include ‘Concerto del Primo Maggio’, or ‘1 May’s Concert’, attracting a crowd of over 300,000
HUNGARY - In Hungary, people dance round ‘May trees’. In the Jászság (between the rivers Danube and Tisza), May trees are usually decorated with colourful paper ribbons. Some suitors also attach gifts for their sweethearts, such as a bottle of wine. On Palóc territories (Northern Hungary), the man would only erect the trees, leaving it to be decorated by the girl and her mother.
NORTHERN EUROPE - Scandinavian countries, and Russia all hold annual parades, meetings, and demonstrations to celebrate labour achievements on May Day
SCOTLAND - In St. Andrews Scotland, some of the students gather on the beach late on April 30th and run into the North Sea at sunrise on May Day. This is accompanied by torch light processions and much enthusiastic celebration
IRELAND - In Ireland, May Day has been celebrated in Ireland since pagan times as the Feast of Bealtaine and in latter times as Mary's day. Bonfires are lit to mark the coming of summer and to banish the long nights of winter. (Irish Mayday Bank Holiday is now officially observed on the first Monday in May). In modern times May Day is associated with anti-government rallies which are held every year on this date. The Festival of the Fires in Killare, Co.Westmeath marks the celebration of May Day.
SWEDEN - In Sweden Mayday is denoted "First of May" ("Första maj" in Swedish) and has been a public holiday in Sweden since 1939. The main events on Mayday are political demonstrations carried out by the working class organisations and political parties historically associated with the working class movement.
PACIFIC - In the Pacific and specifically in Hawaii May Day is known as Lei Day and is normally set aside to celebrate island culture in general and Native Hawaiian culture in particular. While it was invented by a poet and a local newspaper columnist in the 1920s, it has since been adopted by state and local government as well as by the residents, and it has taken on a sense of a general spring celebration there.
AMERICAS - In the Americas, May Day was also celebrated by some early European settlers of the American Continent. In some parts of the United States May baskets are made. These are small and usually filled with flowers or treats and left at some one's doorstep. The basket giver would ring the bell and run away. The person receiving the basket would try to catch the fleeing giver. If they caught the person, a kiss was to be exchanged.
Superstitions
The month of May was considered an unlucky month particularly for getting married. In Greece they say only donkeys get married in Ma, nevertheless many people hold their weddings this month.
Other known and unknown superstitions claim that:
- if you are born in May then you are a sickly child.
- you should never buy a broom in May or wash blankets because it brings bad luck (strange!!).
- if a cat gives birth to kittens this month then these kittens would not be talened in catching rodents in the future, and what is even worse, they will bring snakes into your homes.
- the most unlucky days this month are 3rd, 6th, 7th, 13th, 15th and 20th (you have been warned, so don't bet your savings on your favorite lotto with the above numbers).
- "A wet May makes a big load of hay. A cold May is kindly and fills the barn finely. "
- “A swarm of bees in May… Is worth a load of hay.”
- "Mist in May, Heat in June… Makes harvest come right soon"
- "If you wash a blanket in May; you will wash one of the family away."
- "Those who bathe in May… Will soon be laid in clay"
References:
- http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1450912/Ma y-Day
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1961730.stm
- http://www.theholidayspot.com/mayday/history.htm
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Workers%2 7_Day#Europe
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_Day
HellasFrappe Team
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