May 1 - What holiday? May 1: the history of the holiday

Today, May 1 for many - only the echo of the Soviet past. But his story is interesting and unusual. The article will tell you how the pagan holiday was transformed into the International Labor Day. Yes, indeed, the traditions of this celebration originate in the depths of centuries. At that time, our ancestors celebrated the holiday, which symbolized the beginning of a new season of field work. So - labor.

Feast of the Goddess

The authorities make many adjustments in the perception of the people by certain phenomena. The ruling elite at all times wished to establish its ideology in society. The scope of their activities spread in all directions: from the interpretation of history to the foundation of celebrations.

It is very interesting to form a tradition to celebrate May 1. What a holiday on the first day of the third month of spring, they knew even in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Each of these peoples worshiped the goddess Maya. She was the patroness of the farmers. Annually, peasants, in order to appease the goddess, organized mass celebrations. The date was on 1 May. On this day, any work was canceled. Everyone celebrated the arrival of a new harvest season. Later, the Romans in honor of Maya called the month.

Russian celebration

Celebrated modern holidays and the Slavs. April 30 and May 1 were highlighted in red in their calendar. The ritual performed by our ancestors was called Radonitsa. The essence of the holiday on May 1 in the Slavs - the departure of spring cold. These days, they also revered the dead. On their graves, gifts were brought, among which were colored eggs. We greeted the goddess Zhiva, who had the power to revive nature. The whole day May 1 was taken to rest. People bathed in cold water to purify themselves, and burned ceremonial fires on the banks of rivers.

With the advent of Christianity, church representatives set a goal to exterminate pagan rites. This concerned both the patroness of Maya's fertility, and the Russian rituals of celebrating the dead. But getting rid of a cheerful and joyful holiday was not an easy task. Everyone knew which holiday was important on May 1, and continued to celebrate it.

Therefore, it was decided to transform the traditions. Pagan holidays of the spring were presented as the triumph of the Resurrection of Christ, having adopted some primordial elements.

The first day of the workers

During the ten centuries of Christianity, the feast of the arrival of heat disappeared and was already celebrated as a miracle of resurrection. But historical events have made their own amendments.

On April 12, 1856, Australian workers organized a march of protest. The main requirement was to transfer workers to an 8-hour day and not to reduce wages. Then fortune was on their side. They achieved their goals without bloodshed. Since then, they celebrated their victory every year.

Thirty years later, in 1886, on another continent, the workers of the United States and Canada decided by way of rallies and demonstrations also to achieve an 8-hour working day. This happened on 1 May. What a holiday this day, everyone knows, but not everyone knows that his story is tragic.

Strikers sought a limited working day (before that, it ranged from 12 to 15 hours), fixed wages and social guarantees. Each city raised a riot. But the center of protests was Chicago.

The Motherland of May 1

Events in Chicago went down in history as a "meeting on Haymarket." On the streets of the city there were about 40 000 discontented workers. The next day, one of the leading factories fired more than 1,000 workers. Offended and unemployed people staged another demonstration. Under the gates of that factory, the uprisings were dispersed by the police, with dozens of people injured, and several strikers were killed.

Even more bloody events occurred three days after May 1. The history of the holiday has acquired a new twist.

On Haymarket Square, in the shopping center, organized a rally against the massacre of power. Everything was relatively calm. The police were going to clear the square. But one of the provocateurs threw a bomb in the guards. The police began shelling. During the shooting, many peaceful protesters died. There followed repression, and after a while and an apology of power.

The whole world learned about the so-called revolution on May 1. What kind of holiday could be based on these events? Of course, they began to celebrate the victory of the workers over the system!

Underground May Day

He officially introduced the event and introduced the Congress of the Second International to the people. This structure united in its ranks the socialist workers' parties from all over the world. In 1889, in Paris, it was decided to celebrate the day of the proletariat in memory of those killed in Chicago. The proposal to go out on the streets of the city every year and fight for their rights has taken hold. Since then, the glory of the day of May 1st spread throughout the world. The holiday in Russia (during the time of the empire) was first celebrated in 1890 in Warsaw. In the following year Petersburg was already clandestinely delighted with the Day of Workers of the World. There workers hid from the leading authority in the forest. Under the guise of a picnic, people discussed important revolutionary questions. The movement also picked up Moscow. The first proletarian May Day was held there in 1895.

Openly celebrated Labor Day in 1917. The celebration had a vivid political coloring. Slogans, exclamations, portraits of political figures - everything was aimed at the class struggle. A year later, with the coming to power of the Soviets, a law was passed that from now on, at the national level, May 1 will be celebrated. What a holiday and how to hold it, every Soviet person knew.

Time of working people

The brightest May Day actions were organized by the Soviet authorities. The teams were preparing for the celebration for weeks. It was not only a day off, but a large-scale cultural program, which was planned by the elite.

Parades of the Union were envied by the whole world. People enjoyed the demonstration. Each labor collective fought for the best transparency.

In order to bring the masses to the streets in the early years, the authorities cheated. The leaders let in the main squares a column of equipment, among which was a tank. Onlookers gathered to see the miracle.

The parades of the 1920s and 1930s were remembered with magnificent acrobatic and gymnastic numbers. There were also various scenes in which the capitalists were ridiculed. This is the May Day holiday in the Soviet Union.

Labor Day

The triumph in the Union was called the Day of the International. But later the name changed. Since 1930, May Day was known as the International Solidarity Day of the proletariat. The years of the Great Patriotic War have made their own modifications. Then the day was renamed the Battle Festival of the International Proletariat. Further, the new official name - International Labor Day was established. But the people called it simply - May 1. The history of the holiday originates in the USA, but it is worth noting that there workers rest on the first Monday of September.

More than 140 countries give workers a weekend on May 1 or on the first Monday of the month. Another 80 states celebrate the holiday on another day.

Oblivion of traditions

Today, the May 1 holiday scenario has acquired new features. It is worth noting that fewer Russians want to devote this day to mass actions. Experts argue that such a decline in activity is due to the fact that during the communist ideology, the parade was forced, whereas now the parade itself has lost its original qualities.

In modern Russia, May 1 lost its political context and is celebrated as the Holiday of Spring and Labor. Officially, such status was granted to the celebration on December 30, 2001, which is specified in Article 112 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

This day people try to spend in a circle of friends and family in the nature, have a good rest and gain strength until next holidays.