Spring is in full bloom and we are halfway through summer.
May 1, known as May Day, has long been celebrated as the halfway point between the spring equinox and the summer solstice. Like those days, May 1 marks a specific time of year and the changing of the seasons: the days are getting longer, the weather is warmer, and more wildlife and humans are on the move.
“It’s a beautiful holiday, it’s the height of spring, it’s a very joyful holiday where we celebrate fertility in nature and in our lives,” said Helen A. Berger, professor of sociology at Brandeis University in Boston which studies pagan communities. in the USA
For many, May 1 is better known as International Workers’ Day, a holiday that supports union organizing and workers’ rights and has been around for generations.
Spring celebrations marking May 1 take place in many parts of the United States, with maypole dancing in some communities. In the 20th century, it was also common to make flower baskets for May 1 and give them to friends and neighbors.
Other holidays also fall on May 1, including a holiday celebrated in Hawaii.
Here’s what you need to know about May 1:
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May 1 has pagan origins
May 1 has origins dating back to the Middle Ages and this holiday is one of four annual quarterly days in the pagan calendar, marking the halfway point between the solstices and the equinoxes. The most famous crossover day is Halloween, which falls on October 31, halfway between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice.
“It’s an old custom,” Berger said.
Halloween, also called Samhain, is considered the most important inter-quarterly holiday for practicing Pagans and members of the Wiccan community, and May 1, also called Beltane, is the second most important holiday, Berger said. While Halloween is all about death, she said, May 1 is a celebration of rebirth.
“It’s the opposite of Halloween,” Berger said.
Now, most May Day celebrations are free of religious dogma and for everyone, said Alysha Kravetz of the Bronx, New York, who has practiced witchcraft for 20 years.
“They’re really about connecting with the Earth that we live on,” Kravetz told USA TODAY.
Hundreds of years ago, communities in what is now the United Kingdom and Ireland celebrated the height of spring with rituals resembling some still observed today, Berger said. People gathered to dance around maypoles, which symbolized fertility, according to Berger. Further back in history, the ancient Romans celebrated Floralia, honoring the goddess Flora, according to Kravetz.
“We can sort of trace this continuation of these themes as the Roman Empire took over Europe and spread its traditions throughout Europe,” Kravetz said.
Today, some schoolchildren still dance around maypoles on May 1, and community gatherings take place across the country, including in some churches, Kravetz said.
May 1st is Lei Day in Hawaii
For nearly 100 years, Hawaii residents have celebrated May 1 as Lei Day, with celebratory shows filled with colorful lei flower lei taking place in schools, said Hawaiian history teacher John Rosa. at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
“A lot of it is because spring is here, summer is coming and we’re finishing up the school year,” he said.
Rosa said that in 1927, poet Don Blanding was visiting Hawaii and proclaimed the now-famous phrase: “May 1 is Lei Day in Hawaii.” The following year, residents of the U.S. territory began observing the holiday with lei necklaces and festivities focused on traditional Hawaiian dances, as well as waltzes, Rosa said.
For decades, Lei Day celebrations have mainly taken place in elementary and middle schools, where some students are honored in massive school-wide competitions, Rosa said.
“People from Hawaii who grew up here have memories of learning how to make this particular lei,” he said, referring to the different flowers used to represent each of Hawaii’s eight main islands.
May 1st is International Workers’ Day
May 1 is also celebrated around the world as International Workers’ Day, or Labor Day, a holiday honoring advances in the fight for labor rights and workplace protections.
International Workers’ Day began as a commemoration of the Haymarket Square riots in Chicago in 1886, when on May 4 a bomb exploded amid massive strikes organized by workers demanding an eight-hour workday. Many protesters and police officers were killed, according to the Library of Congress.
In 1889, an international group of socialist organizers and unions designated May 1 as May Day, and in 1894, U.S. President Grover Cleveland declared that Americans would celebrate work on September 1, or Labor Day.
Today, union organizers – particularly in Europe – are gathering around the May 1 holiday and taking the opportunity to highlight the achievements of the global labor movement.
How can I celebrate May 1st?
On the morning of May 1, traditional May Day gatherings will center around maypole dances, where a large pole is inserted into a hole in the ground and people weave ribbons in a pattern around it. Some celebrations also include bonfires.
Although this holiday is rooted in paganism, many people who participate in maypole dances do not identify as pagans, according to Berger.
“You don’t have to be a pagan to party,” she said.
Some maypole dancing celebrations include a Morris dance, a type of traditional English folk dance, where participants wear small bells under their knees and flower crowns.
Dancing in general is a wonderful way to mark May 1, Kravetz said.
“The activity itself is less important than the intention of knowing you’re doing it to get rid of those winter blues and stagnant energy,” she said.
During the 1900s in the United States – particularly in New England – it was common for people to make flower baskets for May 1 – with some calling the holiday “May Basket Day.” The observation was simple: Hang a small basket of flowers and other goodies on someone’s front doorknob as a surprise.
May 1 can also simply be about appreciating the beauty of nature and engaging in personal reflection, Berger said. The simplest way to observe this holiday is to manifest positive energy for the rest of the warm seasons of the year, she explained.
“Just get out into the world, try to find a park, a path to walk on, and enjoy spring, breathe in this season,” Berger said.
