May Day in Other European Countries
România:
On May 1 Romanians celebrate a holiday known as the Arminden. The holiday consists of many apotropaic practices. For instance, oxen are not allowed to be put to work to avoid bad luck like disease or death of them and their owners. Women also do not work the day before the first of May to avoid hail storms coming down on the village.
Greece:
In Greece, May Day celebrations are associated with the goddess Maia, a Greek goddess of fertility. One tradition is a skit where girls sing a chorus over a young boy lying on the ground. Who the youth represents is conflicting, usually it is Adonis, Dionysus, or Maios. After the chorus, the youth stands up and a flower wreath is placed on his head.
Flower wreaths also play a larger role in another tradition. They are made of wildflowers (or in modern times, just bought from flower shops) and hung on a background of green leaves on a doorway or balcony. The wreaths hang until midsummer night (the evening of St. John’s Day) and burned in bonfires known as St. John’s fires.
France:
On May 1, 1561, King Charles IX of France received a lily-of-the-valley flower as a good luck charm. It then became a tradition in his court to give a lily-of-the-valley to ladies of the court. The tradition was co-opted in the early 20th century into a custom of giving a sprig of the flower on May 1. In modern times, people present bouquets of lily-of-the-valley and dog rose flowers to their loved ones on May Day as a symbol of luck.
Italy:
Italy calls May Day Calendimaggio. It is a feast held to celebrate the arrival of spring. In another ritual, special carolers called maggerini visit houses. In exchange for gifts like eggs, wine, and sweets, the maggerini sing verses promising luck, love, and prosperity. The carolers decorate themselves in symbolic plants representing revival and long life, like alder, golden rain, violets, and roses.
Mayday as a Distress Signal
Mayday is not just a holiday, it’s also a term to designate a state of emergency for air and marine communications. To distinguish it from the holiday, it is one word (‘mayday’ instead of ‘may day’) and is repeated 3 times.
The use of “mayday” as a distress signal actually has nothing to do with the holiday of May Day. In 1923, Frederick Stanley Mockford, a senior officer at London’s Croydon Airport, came up with the term as a corruption of the French m’aider, a shortened version of venez m’aider (“come help me”.)
Whether or not you celebrate May Day, there’s no denying that the diverse celebrations among the different countries are fascinating. This spring, celebrate the rebirth of the earth by enlivening your knowledge.
Kavya Seth, Katerine Chung Chen