The earliest May Day celebrations
appeared in pre-Christian times, with the festival of Flora, the Roman goddess
of flowers, and the Walpurgis Night celebrations of the Germanic countries.
It is also associated with the. many
pagan celebrations which were abandoned or Christianized during the process of
conversion in Europe. A more secular version of May Day continues to be
observed in Europe and America.
In this form, May Day may be best
known for its tradition of dancing the maypole dance and crowning of the Queen
of the May. Various Neopagan groups celebrate reconstructed (to varying
degrees) versions of these customs on May 1st.
The day was a traditional summer
holiday in many pre-Christian European pagan cultures. While February 1 was the
first day of Spring, May 1 was the first day of summer; hence,
the summer solstice on June 25 (now June 21) was Midsummer.
In the Roman Catholic tradition, May is
observed as Mary's month, and in these circles May Day is usually a celebration
of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In this connection, in works of art, school skits,
and so forth, Mary's head will often be adorned with flowers in a May crowning.
Fading in popularity since the late
20th century is the giving of "May baskets," small baskets of sweets and/or
flowers, usually left anonymously on neighbors' doorsteps.
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