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The MAYPOLE TRADITION (MAY DAY)
Another popular tradition of May Day involves the maypole. While the exact origins of the maypole remain unknown, the annual traditions surrounding it can be traced back to medieval times, and some are still celebrated today.
Villagers would enter the woods to find a maypole that was set up for the day in small towns (or sometimes permanently in larger cities). The day’s festivities involved merriment, as people would dance around the pole clad with colorful streamers and ribbons.
Historians believe the first maypole dance originated as part of a fertility ritual, where the pole symbolized male fertility and baskets and wreaths symbolized female fertility.
The maypole never really took root in America, where May Day celebrations were discouraged by the Puritans. But other forms of celebrations did find their way to the New World.
During the 19th and 20th centuries, May Basket Day was celebrated across the country, where baskets were created with flowers, candies and other treats and hung on the doors of friends, neighbors and loved ones on May 1.
What does May Day have to do with the international distress call, "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday"? Nothing, as it turns out. The code was invented in 1923 by an airport radio officer in London. Challenged to come up with a word that would be easily understood by pilots and ground staff in case of an emergency, Frederick Mockford coined the word "mayday" because it sounded like "m'aider," a shortened version of the French term for " come and help me."
INTERNATIONAL WORKERS' DAY
The connection between May Day and labor rights began in the United States. During the 19th century, at the height of the Industrial Revolution, thousands of men, women and children were dying every year from poor working conditions and long hours.
In an attempt to end these inhumane conditions, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions (which would later become the American Federation of Labor, or AFL) held a convention in Chicago in 1884. The FOTLU proclaimed “eight hours shall constitute a legal day’s labor from and after May 1, 1886.”
The following year the Knights of Labor—then America’s largest labor organization—backed the proclamation as both groups encouraged workers to strike and demonstrate.
On May 1, 1886, more than 300,000 workers (40,000 in Chicago alone) from 13,000 business walked out of their jobs across the country. In the following days, more workers joined and the number of strikers grew to almost 100,000.
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TRADICIJA MAJSKOG STOLA (PRVI MAJ)
Još jedna popularna tradicija Prvog maja uključuje majski stub. Iako je tačno poreklo majskog stuba nepoznato, godišnje tradicije koje ga okružuju mogu se pratiti do srednjeg veka, a neke se i danas slave.
Seljani bi ulazili u šumu da bi pronašli majski stub koji je bio postavljen za dan u malim gradovima (ili ponekad trajno u većim gradovima). Današnje svečanosti uključivale su veselje, dok bi ljudi plesali oko stuba prekriveni šarenim trakama i trakama.
Istoričari veruju da je prvi ples sa majskom motkom nastao kao deo rituala plodnosti, gde je motka simbolizovala mušku plodnost, a korpe i venci žensku plodnost.
Majski stub nikada nije zaživeo u Americi, gde su puritanci obeshrabrivali proslave Prvog maja. Ali drugi oblici proslava su našli put do Novog sveta.
Tokom 19. i 20. veka širom zemlje se obeležavao Dan majske korpe, gde su se stvarale korpe sa cvećem, bombonima i drugim poslasticama i 1. maja kačile na vrata prijatelja, komšija i najmilijih.
Kakve veze ima Prvi maj sa međunarodnim pozivom u pomoć "Maidai, Maidai, Maidai"? Ništa, kako se ispostavilo. Šifru je 1923. godine izmislio aerodromski radio službenik u Londonu. Izazvan da smisli reč koju bi piloti i zemaljsko osoblje lako razumeli u slučaju nužde, Frederik Mokford je skovao reč „maidai“ jer je zvučala kao „m'aider“, skraćena verzija francuskog izraza za „ dođi i pomozi mi“.
MEĐUNARODNI DAN RADNIKA
Veza između Prvog maja i radnih prava počela je u Sjedinjenim Državama. Tokom 19. veka, na vrhuncu industrijske revolucije, hiljade muškaraca, žena i dece umiralo je svake godine od loših uslova rada i dugog radnog vremena.
U pokušaju da okonča ove nehumane uslove, Federacija organizovanih trgovačkih i radničkih sindikata (koja će kasnije postati Američka federacija rada, ili AFL) održala je konvenciju u Čikagu 1884. FOTLU je proglasio „osam sati će predstavljati zakonski dan rada od i posle 1. maja 1886.“
Sledeće godine Vitezovi rada — tada najveća radnička organizacija u Americi — podržali su proklamaciju pošto su obe grupe ohrabrivale radnike da štrajkuju i demonstriraju.
1. maja 1886. više od 300.000 radnika (40.000 samo u Čikagu) iz 13.000 preduzeća napustilo je svoja radna mesta širom zemlje. Narednih dana pridružilo se još radnika i broj štrajkača je porastao na skoro 100.000.