May Day or May Day is well known in Russia, the USA, European countries and is celebrated on May 1, or on the first weekend of the month. In the recent past, in the Soviet Union, May Day celebrations were referred to as “Day of International Workers' Solidarity”, had the status of state, with fixed days off.
In other states, the celebration, which takes place in the early days of the spring month, is called "Spring Day", "Labor Day", etc. Since 1997, in Russia the first day of May is referred to as the "Festival of Spring and Labor." The origins of May Day are usually sought in paganism, it is popular among citizens, with geography spanning several continents.
Pagan roots on May 1
Ancient Romans began to celebrate the spring festival about 3 thousand years ago. After sowing, in order to obtain a good harvest, sacrifices were made to the goddess of the earth and the fertility of Maya. The ancient Greeks chopped branches off the sacred pine tree Attis, decorated them with fur ornaments and solemnly brought them into the pantheon. On the way, they danced, sang songs and rejoiced, trying to appease the forces of nature. Perhaps, from that time the tradition of the spring festival went.
In France, Germany, Austria and some other countries of Western Europe, the night of April 30 to May 1 is known as Walpurgis Night. According to popular beliefs, it was at this time that the “evil spirits” were raging. People gather together, burn bonfires, dance around them, sing songs and even shoot to scare away “evil spirits”.
In the Netherlands, in the last week of April and the first of May, the world-famous Tulip Festival takes place. And the main day off is called “Onion Sunday”. In rural areas, boys and girls are distributed in a special list in pairs. Then the paper with the names is hung out in a conspicuous place.
On May 1, Spain celebrates Green Santiago, a celebration of flowers and lovers. Flowers are interspersed in the girls' hair and clothes, and gentlemen, accompanying their lovers, sing love serenades to them.
In Scandinavian countries, the massive fun on Walpurgis Night is also accompanied by bonfires and round dances with loud singing and shooting to scare away trolls. And the first day of May is called "Cuckoo's Day."
The history of the holiday
The tradition of celebrating May 1 originated in the United States in the 19th century. In 1886, workers in Chicago organized a strike and called on all concerned to take to the streets. At the same time, the main requirement was put forward - to reduce the working day from 15 to 8 hours. It was on May 1 in the city that mass demonstrations of workers, tired of harsh working conditions and low wages, began. Communists, socialists and other parties of the "left" sense united, trying in this way to concentrate the attention of the authorities on the unbearable life of the working people. The government, in turn, recognized the strike as unlawful, and the demands were unfounded. To suppress the protesters, police detachments were put forward in the main at that time center of the struggle against capitalist arbitrariness - Chicago. Further, events developed on an increasing basis.
The police used firearms to disperse the demonstrators. The first victims appeared in the ranks of the protesters. Already on May 3, at a private factory, police opened fire on workers to kill. Two people were killed and dozens injured. The next day, at a protest rally in Haymarket, the protester threw a bomb at a detachment of government officials. Bottom line: 8 dead police officers, several hundred wounded, on both sides. Moreover, among the victims there were many women and children. In the early morning of the next day, police agents broke into apartments, smashed workers of printing houses and clubs, arresting everyone in a row, looking for “suspicious persons”. As a result, 8 anarchist workers were sentenced to death.
May 1 in Russia and other countries
The Paris Congress of the Second International, held 3 years later, in July 1889, called for May 1 to be called "World Day of Solidarity of Workers," in memory of the struggle of the American proletariat for their rights.
The following year, on the first day of May, in solidarity, demonstrations were held in the USA, Germany, Austria-Hungary, France and other European powers.
May 1 in the Russian Empire
In the Russian Empire, in Warsaw, on May 1, 1891, the Communists, under the guise of festivities, organized the first mass procession. In the same year, in Brussels at the next congress of the Second International, it was decided that each country has the right to independently determine the date for the action. Since then, in some countries, including the British Isles, demonstrations have been postponed to the first May day off.
It should be noted that the demonstrations at that time were held under the guise of folk fun, festivities and only by the end of the XIX century began to acquire a political connotation.
May 1 in the USSR
After the Bolsheviks came to power in October 1917, May Day was declared a public holiday, and became known only as “International Day”. Before the “Victory Day”, military parades of the Red Army were held on May 1 at the Khodynsky field. Since July 30, 1928, one more day was added on May 2. This state of affairs lasted until the collapse of the Soviet Union.
In the Soviet state, celebrations were voluntary. People with flags, banners, slogans and posters “Peace! Work! May!". In the capital, participation in the procession on Red Square was awarded to the most distinguished labor collectives and citizens of the USSR.
In Russia
In Russia, “Day of Spring and Labor” is celebrated with mass celebrations, concerts and rallies, with the participation of various parties. The largest mass action, with the participation of about 100 thousand people, was recorded on May 1, 2014 in Simferopol. May 1, a holiday that was earned by our ancestors at the cost of their lives, so do not neglect it.
