History of May Day in Timeline

By Popular Timelines Editorial Team · Updated: February 23, 2025

May Day is a European festival with ancient roots, celebrated on May 1st to mark the beginning of summer. Celebrations, sometimes starting on May Eve, involve traditions like gathering flowers and branches, weaving floral garlands, crowning a May Queen, and dancing around a Maypole. Bonfires are also a significant part of the festival in certain areas. Regional variations include Walpurgis Night, Beltane, and Calan Mai. It's also linked to the Roman festival Floralia and May devotions to the Virgin Mary. Overall, May Day is a celebration of spring, fertility, and the welcoming of the summer season.

1911: Sir James George Frazer writes about mock battles

In 1911, Sir James George Frazer wrote in The Golden Bough about mock battles between Summer and Winter on May Day.

1912: Alexander Carmichael Collects The Beltane Blessing

In 1912, folklorist Alexander Carmichael collected the song Am Beannachadh Bealltain (The Beltane Blessing) in his Carmina Gadelica, which he heard from a crofter in South Uist.

1923: 'Dancing the sun up' tradition begins in Oxford

In 1923, the tradition of 'dancing the sun up' began in Oxford, which includes dances, traditional May Day songs, and sometimes other activities such as mummers' plays or bonfires, to welcome the sun and summer season. It has spread across the world since then.

May 1927: First Lei Day Celebrated in Honolulu

In May 1927, the first Lei Day was celebrated in Honolulu, invented by poet and local newspaper columnist Don Blanding. The day is set aside to celebrate island culture in general and the culture of the Native Hawaiians in particular.

1933: Nazi Germany Declares National Workers' Day

In 1933, May Day was established as a public holiday when Nazi Germany declared 1 May a "national workers' day". Political parties and unions began hosting activities related to work and employment.

1955: Pope Pius XII establishes feast day of St. Joseph the Worker

In 1955, Pope Pius XII established 1 May as one of two feast days for St. Joseph the Worker, the Catholic patron saint of workers, as a counterpoint to the communist International Workers' Day celebrations.

1976: Revival of Jack in the Green festival in Whitstable

In 1976, the Jack in the Green festival was revived in Whitstable, Kent, and continues to lead an annual procession of morris dancers through the town on the May bank holiday.

1978: Creation of the Early May Bank Holiday

In 1978, the early May bank holiday on the first Monday in May was created. May Day itself – 1 May – is not a public holiday in England unless it falls on a Monday.

1983: Revival of Jack in the Green festival in Hastings

In 1983, a separate revival of the Jack in the Green festival occurred in Hastings and has become a major event in the town calendar.

1993: John Major Government attempts to abolish May Day holiday

In 1993, the John Major government made attempts to abolish the May Day holiday and replace it with Trafalgar Day.

2001: Emergence of Durham May Day Tradition

Since 2001, students of the University of Durham gather on Prebend's Bridge to see the sunrise and enjoy festivities, folk music, dancing, madrigal singing and a barbecue breakfast as an emerging Durham tradition.

February 2011: UK Parliament Considers Scrapping May Day Bank Holiday

In February 2011, it was reported that the UK Parliament was considering scrapping the May Day bank holiday, replacing it with a bank holiday in October to create a "United Kingdom Day".

May 2014: Kingsbury Episcopi May Day Festival attracts thousands

In May 2014, the yearly May Day Festival celebrations in Kingsbury Episcopi, Somerset, attracted thousands of revellers to enjoy traditional maypole and morris dancing, as well as contemporary music acts.

2024: Morris dancers celebrate May Day in the US

In 2024, Morris dancers continued the English custom of 'dancing the sun up' on May Day in Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin.