MAY DAY... different things to different people

May 1 is many things: A reason to turn the page on your calendar, the day after April 30, It’s also…a holiday? Huh? May 1—May Day—is a holiday? What is it, one of those Hallmark holidays like Sweetest Day (October 16) and Bosses Day (isn’t that every day? They’re bosses, they can do whatever they want!)? No? It’s a real holiday? And there’s multiple holidays celebrated? OK then.
May Day has origins dating back thousands of years to when the Romans paid tribute to Flora, the goddess of flowers. Other lore ties it to the Walpurgis Night, a celebration in parts of Europe of Saint Walpurga. In other parts of Europe, May Day signifies crowning a girl the May Queen; she then begins the May 1 celebrations, which include dancing around a maypole. In different parts of the world, aspects of paganism are heavily rooted in May Day festivities and tradition.
Around these parts, May Day doesn’t get the attention holidays like Thanksgiving and Halloween receive. But another holiday is celebrated on May 1 in these United States—Law Day. Coined in 1958 by then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Law Day was started to recognize and remember the importance of written rule in our country’s founding and it’s role in maintaining order.
Don’t think lawyers deserve an entire day in their honor? Keep it to yourself—they’ll sue you if word gets out. In seriousness, there’s still another reason to call in sick on May 1, 2012, (the next time it doesn’t fall on a weekend)—International Workers’ Day. IW Day casts a light on organized labor and remembers the 1886 Haymarket Massacre in Chicago, where police shot workers striking. The holiday is celebrated on May 1 all over the globe, except here, where it’s moved to the first Monday in September, renamed Labor Day and is celebrated by everyone storing their white clothes away until Memorial Day.
So whatever your reason for breaking out the party hats and kazoos on May 1, make it a good time.