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May Day is May 1 , and refers to any of several Holiday s celebrated on this day. This holidays include several pagan celebrations, celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Roman Catholic tradition, and International Workers' Day, which is a Public Holiday in some countries. The earliest May Day celebrations appeared in pre- Christian Europe , as in the Celtic celebration of Beltane , and the Walpurgis Night of the Germanic countries. Although the pagan-oriented celebrations faded as Europe became Christianised, a more secular version of the holiday continued to be observed in the schools and churches of Europe well into the 20th century. In this form, May Day may be best known for its tradition of dancing the Maypole and crowning of the Queen Of The May . Today many Neopagan s, especially Wiccans , celebrate reconstructed versions of the old pagan holidays on May 1 . The day was a traditional summer holiday in many pre- Christian Europe an Pagan cultures, and many elements of these holidays are still celebrated on May 1 today, such as the Maypole . While February 1 was the first day of Spring, May 1 was the first day of summer; hence, the summer solstice on June 25 (now June 21) was "midsummer." In the Roman Catholic tradition, May is observed as Mary's month, and in these circles May Day is usually a celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary . In this connection, in works of art, school skits, and so forth, Mary's head will often be adorned with flowers. Fading in popularity since the late 20th Century is the giving of "May baskets," small baskets of candy and/or flowers, usually left anonymously on neighbors' doorsteps. Charming May Day Baskets ''May Day'' also refers to various Socialist and Labor Movement celebrations conducted on May 1 , unrelated to any Pagan or traditional celebrations, to commemorate the Haymarket Martyrs of 1886 and the international Socialist Social Movement generally. May Day in this regard is called International Workers' Day or Labour Day , and is a commemoration of the execution of the Haymarket Martyrs who were arrested after the Haymarket Riot Of 1886 in Chicago , Illinois , which occurred on May 4 but was the culmination of Labor Unrest that had begun on May 1 . Consequently this May Day became established as an Anarchist and Socialist holiday, and in this form, May Day has become an international celebration of the social and economic achievements of the Working Class and Labor Movement . Although May Day observance began in the United States, it is not officially nor popularly recognized as a holiday there; instead May 1st was officially designated by the U.S. Congress as Loyalty Day in 1958, because of the association of May Day with communism. Roots of May Day are in Chicago INTERNATIONAL WORKERS' DAY International Workers' Day (a name used interchangeably with ''May Day'') is a celebration of the social and economic achievements of the international Labour Movement . May Day commonly sees organized street demonstrations by hundreds of thousands of working people and their Labour Union s throughout Europe and most of the rest of the world — though, as noted below, in neither the United States nor Canada . Other groups such as Communist s and Anarchists are also given to widespread street protest on this day as well. International Workers' Day is the commemoration of the Haymarket Riot in Chicago in 1886 ; in 1889 , the first congress of the Second International , meeting in Paris for the centennial of the French Revolution and the Exposition Universelle (1889) , following a proposal by Raymond Lavigne , called for international demonstrations on the 1890 anniversary of the Chicago protests. These were so successful that May Day was formally recognized as an annual event at the International's second congress in 1891 . The May Day Riots Of 1894 and May Day Riots Of 1919 occurred subsequently. In 1904 , the International Socialist Conference meeting in Amsterdam called on "all Social Democrat ic Party organizations and trade unions of all countries to demonstrate energetically on May First for the legal establishment of the 8-hour day, for the class demands of the proletariat, and for universal peace." As the most effective way of demonstrating was by striking, the congress made it "mandatory upon the proletarian organizations of all countries to stop work on May 1 , wherever it is possible without injury to the workers." May Day has long been a focal point for of 1977 in Turkey. Due to its status as a celebration of the efforts of workers and the socialist movement, May Day is an important official holiday in Communist countries such as the People's Republic Of China , Cuba , and the former Soviet Union . May Day celebrations typically feature elaborate popular and military parades in these countries. In countries other than the United States and Canada , resident Working Class es fought hard to make May Day an official holiday, efforts which largely succeeded. For this reason, in most of the world today, May Day is marked by massive street rallies led by workers, their Trade Union s, anarchists and various Communist and Socialist parties. In the United States, however, the official Federal holiday for the "working man" is Labor Day in September. This day was promoted by the Central Labor Union and the Knights of Labor organized the first parade in New York City. The first Labor Day celebration was held on September 5, 1882, and was organized by the Knights of Labor. The Knights began holding it every year and called for it to be a national holiday, but this was opposed by other labor unions who wanted it held on May Day (like it is everywhere else in the world). After the Haymarket Square riot in May, 1886, President Cleveland feared that commemorating Labor Day on May 1 could become an opportunity to commemorate the riots. Thus he moved in 1887 to support the Labor Day that the Knights supported. {Link without Title} |
Image:Agartala-mayday151jpgMay Day Meeting In
| "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/information/entry/Agartala" class="copylinks">Agartala , India |
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Image:1maj Medborgare2006jpgSwedish Left Party May Day Demonstration In
| "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/information/entry/Stockholm" class="copylinks">Stockholm , Sweden , 2006 |
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Image:1maj2006socdemsthlmjpg
| "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/information/entry/Swedish_Social_Democratic_Party" class="copylinks">Social Democratic May Day demonstration in Stockholm , Sweden , 2006 |
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Image:1majmumbaiJPGA May Day Rally In
| "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/information/entry/Mumbai" class="copylinks">Mumbai |
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Image:Pflpmayday2005jpeg
| "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/information/entry/PFLP" class="copylinks">PFLP May Day poster |
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Image:ForstamajjpgA Rally In
| "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/information/entry/Stockholm" class="copylinks">Stockholm , Sweden 1899 |
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