May Day, celebrated on May 1st, is a European festival with ancient roots that marks the start of summer. Falling between the spring equinox and summer solstice, it involves traditions like gathering wildflowers, creating garlands, crowning a May Queen, dancing around a Maypole, and lighting bonfires. May Day celebrations are linked to various regional traditions, including Walpurgis Night, Beltane, Calan Mai, and Roman Floralia. The festival also includes devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
1911: Publication of "The Golden Bough"
Sir James George Frazer's book, "The Golden Bough", was published in 1911. The book examines the mock battles between Summer and Winter that were common on May Day up until the 19th century.
1912: Collection of "The Beltane Blessing"
Folklorist Alexander Carmichael, during his career which spanned from 1832 to 1912, collected a song called "Am Beannachadh Bealltain" ("The Beltane Blessing") from a crofter in South Uist. This was published in his collection "Carmina Gadelica".
1923: First 'Dancing the Sun Up' in Oxford
The tradition of Morris dancers 'dancing the sun up' on May Day morning began in Oxford in 1923 to welcome the sun and summer. The tradition includes dances, traditional May Day songs, and sometimes other activities, such as mummers' plays or bonfires.
May 1927: First Lei Day in Honolulu
The first Lei Day was celebrated in Honolulu on May 1st, 1927. The holiday, invented by poet and local newspaper columnist Don Blanding, celebrates island culture in general and the culture of the Native Hawaiians in particular. Leonard "Red" and Ruth Hawk composed "May Day Is Lei Day in Hawai'i," the traditional holiday song.
1933: May Day Established as Public Holiday in Nazi Germany
In 1933, Nazi Germany established May 1st as a national holiday, designating it as "national workers' day", which many political parties and unions now recognize as Labour Day and host work and employment related activities.
1955: Feast Day of St. Joseph the Worker
In 1955, Pope Pius XII declared May 1st, already associated with various May devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary, as the feast day of St. Joseph the Worker. This decision was intended to counter the communist International Workers' Day celebrations also held on May Day.
1976: Revival of Jack in the Green Festival in Whitstable
The Jack in the Green festival was revived in Whitstable, Kent, in 1976. It continues to lead an annual procession of morris dancers through the town on the May bank holiday.
1978: Establishment of Early May Bank Holiday
The early May bank holiday on the first Monday in May was created in 1978.
1983: Revival of Jack in the Green Festival in Hastings
A separate revival of the Jack in the Green festival occurred in Hastings in 1983. It has become a major event in the town calendar.
1993: John Major Government Attempt to Abolish May Day Holiday
The John Major government attempted to abolish the May Day holiday in 1993 and replace it with Trafalgar Day.
2001: Durham May Day Sunrise Gathering
Students of the University of Durham began an inconsistently observed tradition in 2001 of gathering on Prebend's Bridge to see the sunrise and enjoy festivities, folk music, dancing, madrigal singing, and a barbecue breakfast.
February 2011: UK Parliament Considers Replacing May Day Bank Holiday
In February 2011, the UK Parliament considered replacing the May Day bank holiday, established in 1978, with a bank holiday in October, potentially coinciding with Trafalgar Day (celebrated on 21 October), to create a "United Kingdom Day".
May 2014: Kingsbury Episcopi May Day Festival Popularity Surge
The yearly May Day Festival celebrations in Kingsbury Episcopi, Somerset, saw a surge in popularity in recent years, drawing thousands of revelers on May 5th, 2014. The festivities included traditional maypole dancing, morris dancing, and contemporary music acts, covered by BBC Somerset.
2024: 'Dancing the sun up' in the US
In 2024, Morris dancers in Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin 'danced the sun up' on May Day to welcome the sun and summer season.