May Day

Historians generally agree that May Day celebrations probably originated in the spring fertility rites of ancient Rome, which occurred at about the same time of year marking celebrations honoring the goddess of spring, Flora.
May Day is a name for various holidays celebrated on May 1 (or in the beginning of May), the most famous one being Labour Day. May Day is exactly a half-year from November 1, All Saints' Day. Marking the end of the uncomfortable winter half of the year in the Northern hemisphere, it has always been an occasion for popular and often raucous celebrations, regardless of the political or religious establishment. May Day was also originally the Celtic holiday 'Beltane' or 'Beltaine', the "Return of the Sun". It is the third and last of the spring festivals. We can see traces of Beltaine when dancing around the maypole or sending a basket of flowers to your neighbor's door. May Day is a time to celebrate the onset of May, the month that sees the Earth reaching itself ready to burgeon to its maximum capacity.

The Finnish celebrate May Day with picnics, carnivals, and by wearing a special hat. Lately, it has become a day for politicians to give important speeches.

The Irish celebrate May Day by lighting huge bonfires to commemorate the end of winter. They also participate in a huge feast called Bealtaine.

Ever since King Charles IX received a "lily of the valley" flower on this day in 1561, it has become a tradition for individuals to exchange these flowers. Often, they are picked and given to a lover, and the government allows them to be sold on May Day free of taxation.