What Is May Day and How To Celebrate! | Gifts from Handpicked Blog

Where did May Day come from?

Celebrating May and everything that comes with it has been a festivity that has been around for centuries! The first recorded events of the May festivities comes from as early as Ancient Roman times. There was a festival known as The Floralia which translates to the festival of flowers. This festival took place between the 28th of April and the 3rd of May to honour the goddess of flowers, fertility and spring. From this festival being celebrated in Ancient Roman times, the first day of May has been celebrate throughout history as a way to feast, display floral presentations and dance through towns and villages. 

On top of festivals being celebrated for May Day, other traditions came into play, such as May Day Queens and dancing around the May Pole. For the day, a May Lord and Lady would be chosen out of the ordinary people in a village or a town to rule over. They would often be presented with floral crowns and the woman would be a symbol of purity and spring time. 

You may of also seen people dancing around a May Pole throughout the May festivities, this is also a tradition that originated from mid 14th century Wales which eventually travelled throughout England. This dancing around the May Pole saw mainly children, dressed in white, use colourful ribbon to create intricate patterns around a May Pole. This would create a beautiful display that people would love to see, another way of celebrating the colour of May and the joys of spring time.

May Bank Holiday

In terms of the May Bank Holiday, which we all know and love, it was created in 1978 by Michael Foot. At the time Foot was the Labour Employment Secretary, and this bank holiday showed political significance that expressed a way of commemorating workers for International Workers Day which is also known as May Day.

Although this was the origins for May bank holiday, a lot of countries know May as the start of summer. This includes warmer weather throughout the UK as well as flowers blooming and animals returning to fields around the countryside. 

How To Celebrate May Day

There are many ways to celebrate May Day, and many places across the UK celebrate it very differently. A part from the obvious activities of May Pole dancing and crowning a May Queen, what else can you do to celebrate the fabulous bank holiday? In modern day, many people like to take part in arts and crafts on May Day, and there are often village halls open which you can take part in pottery painting, face painting, sewing, wreath making and more! An easier and hassle free way of celebrating May Day would be to have a picnic in your local park, as the weathers begins to brighten, it is a great idea to head into the outdoors and enjoy your favourite picnic snacks, whilst enjoying the sound of the birds and the warm sunshine! 

Within the home, you can bring the outdoors in by collecting wildflowers and other foliage from outside and decorating your home! Whether you make your own wreath or simply display the gorgeous flowers in any room, this activity is the perfect way to enjoy May Day. Get the whole family involved in picking the prettiest flowers and adorning your mantelpieces, dining room tables and more!

If you want to give back this May Day, you can create something which is called a May Day basket. Many people fill baskets with flowers, chocolate, sweets and much more and give them out to their family and friends, or even neighbours! May Day baskets are meant to show your compassion and kindness, almost like a fresh start for the beginning of summer time.

To conclude, May Day is one of our favourite bank holidays due to the amount of festivities and amazing weather! Although, this is the UK so you can never be too sure. This May Day, make sure you take part in one of the fantastic activities to celebrate the start of summer and new beginnings. No matter what you choose to do this May Bank holiday, whether it be dancing around the May Pole or visiting your local village hall, we hope you have a day filled with fun and joy. You can find out more about May Day and the origins of it from the National Trust website.