May Day

Summer begins halfway between the spring equinox and the summer solstice.

May Day
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Key words

  • Equinox: either of the two occasions in the year when the centre of the sun is directly above the Equator, and day and night are approximately equal in length

They celebrate the autumn equinox.

  • Solstice: either of the two times during the year when the sun is farthest from the equator, about June 21st when the sun is farthest north of the equator and about December 22nd when it is farthest south

The summer solstice has the longest days, and the winter solstice has the shortest.

  • Procession: a line of people who are all walking or traveling in the same direction, especially in a formal way as part of a religious ceremony or public celebration

The festival will open with a procession led by the mayor.

In some places, bus services have all but disappeared.

  • Rallying: causing people to come together in order to support something or make a shared effort

He became a rallying figure for anti-war protesters.


Read the article to find the answers

  1. When is May Day celebrated?
  2. Which Roman goddess was celebrated?
  3. When was maypole dancing forbidden?
  4. Where does the London May Day demonstration march to?

Bank Holidays

In the United Kingdom, bank holidays refer to all public holidays, including Good Friday, Easter Monday, May Day, Spring Bank Holiday, Summer Bank Holiday, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

May Day is celebrated on the first Monday in May each year and marks the beginning of summer, halfway between the spring equinox and the summer solstice. International Workers' Day is also called May Day, but the two are unrelated.

May Day Traditions

The earliest known celebration of May was the festival of Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers. In England, there are many traditional May Day celebrations, some of which have been going on for hundreds of years. They often include wild flowers, and dancing around a maypole.

Maypole dancing is a tradition on May Day.

The earliest records of maypole dancing date from the 14th century, and by the 15th century the maypole tradition was well established in southern Britain. A good example of a traditional May Day celebration is in Whitstable, Kent, where the Jack in the Green leads an annual procession of Morris dancers through the town.

Morris dancing is a form of English folk dance.

The tradition of the Jack in the Green, a man dressed in a costume of leaves, began in early modern England, and the term 'Green Man' was used in England from the 17th century. They were also commonly used in the names of pubs. Robin Hood and Peter Pan have also been associated with the Green Man.

May Day celebrations all but disappeared after the English Civil War, when Oliver Cromwell and his Puritans took control of the country in 1645. He described maypole dancing as a wicked, heathen superstition, and passed legislation that saw the end of village maypoles across the country.

International Workers' Day

International Workers' Day is also often referred to as May Day. In 1889, the Marxist International Socialist Congress passed a resolution calling for a "great international demonstration" in support of working class demands for the eight-hour work day. The date of 1 May was chosen by the American Federation of Labour and became an annual event.

The traditional rallying point for the London demonstration is Clerkenwell Green, with marchers heading to Trafalgar Square to campaign on a range of issues. The cost of living crisis has been the focus of recent demonstrations.


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Discussion questions

  • Do you have any questions about any of the vocabulary or grammar in this article?
  • Do people in your country celebrate May Day?
  • What traditions does your country have for the start of summer?
  • Has there ever been a ban on traditional celebrations in your country?

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