The first of May has been a holiday for a very long time. It is the midway point between the vernal equinox and the summer solstice. For the Romans it was the last day of Floralia and dedicated to the goddess Flora as well as being dedicated to Bona Dea, the female principle. For the Celts and Druids it was Beltane. Jeff can comment more authoritatively on that than I can.
Christians, as was their practice, absorbed the old Roman holiday and dedicated the day (and, in fact, the entire month of May) to Mary, the mother of Jesus.
May Day is also a great holiday for the labor movement and for socialists: it is International Worker’s Day. In the old Soviet Union days this was a day for great displays of military power. The United States attempted to co-opt this celebration by naming the first of May as Law Day in 1955. Does anyone actually celebrate Law Day? If so, they’re being vewy, vewy quiet.
The Catholic Church, too, has attempted to co-opt Workers’ Day by dedicating it to St. Joseph the Worker.
In England this was the day of the May Pole and a May Queen was selected. Did you know that Maid Marion from the old Robin Hood legends started off in life as the May Day May Queen? Both she and Friar Tuck were absorbed into the Robin Hood legends from the old May Day practices and stories.
I suspect that all of these festivals have a common origin: the spring planting has been done, the first harvest isn’t nearly ready yet, the weather is fine, and it’s a great day to take a breather. Speaking of breath, Joe Katzman has a nice post over on Winds of Change on breath and its significance.
