May Day, in medieval and modern
Europe, holiday (May 1) for the celebration of the return of spring.
The observance probably originated in
ancient agricultural rituals, and the Greeks and Romans held such festivals.
Although later practices varied widely, the celebrations came to include the
gathering of wildflowers and green branches, the weaving of floral garlands,
the crowning of a May king and queen, and the setting up of a decorated May
tree, or Maypole,
around which people danced.
Such rites originally may have been
intended to ensure fertility for crops and, by extension, for livestock and
humans, but in most cases this significance was gradually lost, so that the
practices survived largely as popular festivities.
Among the many superstitions
associated with May Day was the belief that washing the face with dew on the
morning of May 1 would beautify the skin.
Because the Puritans
of New England considered the celebrations of May Day to be licentious and
pagan, they forbade its observance, and the holiday never became an important
part of American culture.
In the 20th century, traditional May
Day celebrations declined in many countries as May 1 became associated with the
international holiday honouring workers and the labour movement
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