May Day | Biography
Subsequently, as the world moved to the modern age, specifically in the 19th century, a historical labor movement broke out on May Day. Therefore, to commemorate the rights of labor and the significant establishment of working hours as eight per day, 1 May is also International Workers' Day.
The month of May with both historical and modern symbol is celebrated by different countries with different rituals and the festivities begins with the public holiday of May Day.
What is May Day?
The first day of May, i.e., 1 May, is known as May Day. It is marked as the arrival of spring in most traditional countries. And accordingly, it is celebrated with songs, food, rituals, and gatherings.
Initially, 1 May was famous as a pagan feast, also known as Beltaine in Gaelic tradition, counted to signify the rotational phases of the earth. Eventually, it got adopted as a celebrational day of the year by different cultures and communities.
For instance, the Greeks and Romans welcomed May Day with agricultural ritualistic festivals, which evolved into festivities with Maypole dance and flowers in modern Europe. They were followed by Americans who subsisted in celebrating the day in a secular manner within their communities with performances by young girls and community fairs.
At the same time, May Day marks the beginning of winter in the Southern hemisphere. Henceforth, the day gives a different meaning to the Australian and African countries.
Subsequently, as the world moved to the modern age, specifically in the 19th century, a historical labor movement broke out on May Day. Therefore, to commemorate the rights of labor and the significant establishment of working hours as eight per day, 1 May is also International Workers' Day.
Workers Day
In 1884 the American Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions (FOTLU) held a labor convention in Chicago. The conference resolved that from 1 May 1886, laborers would be legally working for only eight hours per day. As during the 1870s and 1880s, capitalization and socialism had heightened, and workers were abused to work for ten hours for minimum compensation.
Then, the federation organized a peaceful rally on 1 May 1886 in Haymarket, Chicago, where workers of over 13,000 businesses joined in claiming their working rights. As a result, it became known as Haymarket Ralley.
However, on 3 May, the riot took a violent turn killing seven police officers and eight civilians. Eight personnel who were unrelated to the incident were made responsible for the atrocities of that day. It led to a historical trial in August where a biased jury was selected to wrongfully convict them.
Among the eight, seven were given the death sentence, while the eighth person was given 15 years of imprisonment. However, only four men got hung in the end, one committed suicide, and the other three were pardoned six years later.
Later in 1890, a European worker's coalition organized an honor rally for the Haymarket Martyrs, where over 300,000 workers rallied in London. It is unsure if the May Day riot continued in the US. But the efforts of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters (UBC), and FOTLU both co-founded by Peter J. McGuire, Labor Day became a public holiday in Oregon. Followed by that, five years later, in 1894, the USA Congress, under the leadership of President Grover Cleveland, passed the legislation to declare the first Monday of September as Labor Day.
Then only, Monday of May became Worker's day to embrace the labor movements worldwide and the martyrs of the Haymarket riot. They were remembered for battling decent working conditions and the right to unions. Different nations around the globe followed the honor celebration and declared a public holiday on May Day. And it is still commemorated with picnics and festivals and marches and rallies supporting the freedom of workers.
On the recent 2021 May Day, workers celebrating International Labour Day conducted riots and rallies, pledging favorable working opportunities and job protection hindered by the pandemic. But, followed by increased rent, food, and other prices, economic discrimination in medical facilities was also fueling their concerns.
Recently, during the 2021 workers' rally, the respective governments attempted to control large gatherings due to the spread of COVID in countries like France and Berlin. However, protesters wore masks to mark the change in their traditional May Day celebrations. While in Russia, comparatively declined participants were seen during the riots.
Food and Song Celebrations
As the modern American society remembers Labor Day as workers' day, memorializing with parades, picnics, and parties. Similar celebrations can be seen during May Day. Streets are outlined with a holiday parade, fairs supporting local communities, and schools, followed by a festival for the workers' recreation and amusement.
On the other hand, European society conducts classical Maypole dance, a custom dating back to medieval times. Generally, in small towns, villagers would enter the woods to discover a maypole that had been put up for the day. While in larger cities, a permanent maypole is assigned for the purpose. Then, people would dance around the pole, adorned with bright streamers and ribbons.
Historians deducted that the original maypole dance began as a fertility ceremony, with the pole representing male fertility and baskets and wreaths representing female fertility. But, this custom is not celebrated in American communities.
Nevertheless, a similar tradition of May Basket Day is followed in the US. Baskets made with flowers, candy, and other gifts are put on the doors of friends, neighbors, and loved ones on 1 May.
Then May Day songs are sung in the town where workers count the day as their day of celebration, freedom, as well a proud day for marching.
May Day Song
Once a year we hear the sound of marching feet,
Marching altogether on the May Day Street.
Come and join the crowd that is so proud to say
THIS IS OUR OWN DAY, YEAH!
Come on and march, come on and march,
Come on and march on May Day.
Goodbye to blues, goodbye to sorrow, we'ree marching today, We'ree marching tomorrow, for a roof overhead,
For our bed and our bread,
Come on and march on May Day!
Come on and march, come on and march,
Come on and march on May Day.
