May Day – A Potted History

May Day – a potted history

In addition to the spring equinox (which is around 20 March in the northern hemisphere), 1 May was a traditional date for marking the arrival of spring. Across Europe there have been – and still are – many rich traditions representing fertility and (hopefully!) warmer weather.

The month of May is named after the Greek goddess Maia, depicted here with flower garlands and wreaths.

The Romans marked the start of May with the Floralia. They held a five-day festival to honour Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers, which was declared a holiday by Julius Caesar. People would dance, gather flowers and celebrate with public games, theatre and merrymaking to mark the arrival of longer days and the start of the farming season.

The Romans also used the Greek myth of Persephone (Roman: Proserpina) and Demeter (Roman: Ceres) to explain the changing seasons. 

In the UK, May Day has long been celebrated with a mix of Anglo-Saxon and Celtic traditions. The Celtic festival of Beltane takes place on 1 May. In Celtic tradition, the sun was held prisoner during winter months and was released each spring to rule the summer sky. Celtic peoples celebrated this with a huge feast, with great fires and dancing. You can find out more about Celtic festivals here.

Other UK May Day traditions include dancing round a maypole, as seen in this 19th-century print imagining life in Elizabethan England. Although maypole dancing clearly goes back centuries, and is prevalent in many European countries, there is no agreement on when it began, or why!

The eve of 1 May (the night of 30 April) has also been celebrated for centuries in Germanic countries as Walpurgisnacht. The 8th-century abbess St Walpurga is credited with bringing Christianity to Germany. In Germanic folklore Walpurgisnacht, also called Hexennacht (literally ‘Witches’ Night’), is believed to be the night of a witches’ meeting as they await the coming of spring. As Walpurga’s feast was held on 1 May, she became associated with this May Day folk tradition. The eve of May Day, traditionally celebrated with dancing, came to be known as Walpurgisnacht. 

In the late 19th century, a group of socialists and communists chose May Day as the date for International Workers’ Day. Although they fall on the same day, International Workers’ Day and the traditional May Day are essentially different celebrations.

‘May Day’ by Walter Crane. Watercolour and gold, 1874.

‘Maia. Mayus’, the goddess Maya on a cloud at centre, holding flower garlands and wreaths; the zodiacal sign of Gemini beyond. Print made by Jacobus Harrewyn. Engraving, 1698.

‘Flora, Goddess of Flowers’.  Mezzotint with some etching, 1800.

‘May day in the reign of Queen Elizabeth’ by James Henry Watt. Etching and engraving on chine collé, 1836.

‘The Triumph of Labour’ by Walter Crane. Inscribed in capitals along the lower border: ’ Designed to commemorate the International Labour Day May 1 1891 / and dedicated to the wage workers of all countries’. Woodcut, 1891.