Post by Whisker on May 1, 2014 10:57:24 GMT -1
May Day -What is its Significance?
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May Day, the first of May, is an important holiday all over the world, for people from communists to pagans and everyone in between. Depending on the context, it has a different significance for different individuals, but it is generally a day of celebration that involves drinking, dancing, bonfires, and other general mischief. The significance of the holiday has also changed over the centuries, with the rise of Christianity and attempts to suppress pagan religions. In some contexts, it's a celebration of summer and fertility, while in others, it commemorates the struggles in the labor movement.
As a pagan holiday, May Day is quite old. Also known as Beltane, it was designated as a holiday to promote and celebrate fertility, as well as a chance to celebrate the end of the cold winter months, as the first day of May was also the beginning of summer. Celebrations included large bonfires on which people burned offerings of flowers and food, and cattle were traditionally driven between the fires so that they would be blessed with fertility. Many humans ran between the fires for the same purpose. In many places, people danced around the May Pole, a dance traditionally performed by young women bedecked with flowers and ribbons.
As a pagan holiday, May Day is quite old. Also known as Beltane, it was designated as a holiday to promote and celebrate fertility, as well as a chance to celebrate the end of the cold winter months, as the first day of May was also the beginning of summer. Celebrations included large bonfires on which people burned offerings of flowers and food, and cattle were traditionally driven between the fires so that they would be blessed with fertility. Many humans ran between the fires for the same purpose. In many places, people danced around the May Pole, a dance traditionally performed by young women bedecked with flowers and ribbons.
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