Let Us Celebrate May Day

The worldwide celebration of May Day really began last night, April 30th. However, the celebrations will continue through today and even through next weekend. May Day is a day of celebration by many customs and even some religions. Various Pagan and Wiccan groups celebrate May Day as Beltane, which is the welcoming of summer. Most Pagans and Wiccans see Beltane as the second most important day of the year; Samhain, or Halloween to many, is set as number one since it is the beginning of the new year for their culture.

So what is Beltane? Beltane is about honoring life and basically starts the sun's full release from the bondage of winter. Pagans and Wiccans see Beltane as the direct opposite of Samhain, but there is one thing in common; the veils between the two worlds are the thinnest during both times of the year. To them, this is when the two worlds intermingle and magick can be found all around.

May Day may be celebrated in many ways across the globe. Pagans and Wiccans have their own celebrations, such as the Celtic celebration at Calton Hill in Edinburgh, Scotland. The annual festival begins on May's Eve and attracts approximately 12,000 people. This year's festival was the 20th year for the celebration and it kicked off at 9 P.M last night. According to the Edinburgh Evening News site, "the festival sees semi-clad dancers with burning torches take to the hill and hold an elaborate procession led by the May Queen and the Green Man lasting nearly three hours."

May Day is not solely a Pagan celebration though. Some Roman Catholics celebrate May Day as Mary's month. Some churches that celebrate will adorn the Virgin Mary's head with flowers. Some of the older May Day traditions of the church was to also give a May Day basket filled with candy and flowers.

In the United States May Day refers to more of a labor movement celebration. This dates back to the Haymarket Martyrs that were arrested in the riots of 1866 in Chicago, Illinois. In many circles May Day is also known as International Worker's Day or Labour Day. This is why there are immigration rallies being held across the country today. Some of the rallies that are taking place across the United States are to show that immigrants are determined to achieve a path to citizenship for the estimated 12-million illegals in the U.S.

One of the immigration rallies in the U.S was planned to kick off at 8 A.M in California. They expect a second march to commence at 2 P.M and then a rally will be held at MacArthur Park at 5:30 P.M. According to rally organizers, the march is to try to gain full legalization for the millions of illegal immigrants in the U.S. Last year approximately 400,000 - 500,000 people missed work on May Day in order to join the rally. This year they are hoping for an even bigger turnout.

Besides the rallies, marches, and various Pagan and Wiccan celebrations, how does the rest of the world celebrate May Day? In the Soviet Union they celebrate with large military parades. In India it is a national bank holiday and is officially referred to as Maharashtra Day because the Maharashtra obtained statehood on this day in 1960. In China, May Day marks the start of the "Golden Weeks". They give three days off work and then they rearrange the surrounding weekends so workers can have a total of seven days off of work for celebration. They also tend to have a rather large parade through Tiananmen Square, which is normally televised on CCTV.

In Germany today some will be celebrating through demonstration. Normally this is done by neo-nazi groups and the NPD. Most demonstrations end in fighting with left-wing protestors. Most of the other large countries throughout the world, such as Canada, celebrate May Day as some form of a labour day.

Never-the-less, no matter what country you live in there is some form of celebration for May Day. Whether you live in Scotland and can attend a Celtic Beltane festival, or if you live in Minneapolis, MN and can attend the annual "In the Heart of the Beast" puppet show and parade, you can easily find something to do or some way to celebrate. Even though May Day stands for a wide variety of interpretations, it's amazing to know that the entire planet is celebrating in some way and welcoming the beginning of summer. So whether you grab a picket sign for a rally or lace flowers in your hair to dance around the Maypole, just get out there today and celebrate the coming of summer and the warm days ahead.

*Sources*

-The Edinburgh Evening News Online. URL: http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=665042007 . Vallely, Joanna. 2007Apr30.

-Wikipedia. URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_Day . 2007May1.

-KNX1070 NewsRadio Online. URL: http://www.knx1070.com/pages/407948.php?contentType=4&contentId=458699 . 2007May1.