Today Google is letting people know about “May Day”, International Labor Day or Workers day as it is known via the Google Frontpage. The 1st of May also known as May Day is celebrated worldwide in more than 80 Countries. It is however unofficially celebrated in many more countries around the world. In the rest of the article we will refer to International Workers day, Labour Day as May Day.
Why is it Labor day called May Day?
May Day on May 1 is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday, it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures. Simply because the holiday is celebrated around the world on the first monday in may! May Day should not be confused with the “Mayday” international distress signal!
Today Google Doodle is changing to a worker holding up the Google Logo symbolizing International Worker’s Day 2012 / May Day.
We have compiled a list of countries that celebrate the 1st of May officially as “International workers day / May Day”. In some countries the history and tradition of International workers day / May Day is slightly different and we will briefly discuss the way it is celebrated around the world.
May Day Google Doodle video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrvUrJC8WSc
International Workers day in Australia
Workers day in Australia is usually celebrated on the 1st Monday in March. In Tasmania and Victoria it is only celebrated on the 2nd Monday in March which may explain why there is not a Google Doodle for Labour day this year on the Australia Google Search Engine. In the Australia Capital Territory, New South Wales and South Australia Labour day is only celebrated in October.
May Day Pakistan
Pakistan is one of the countries where “May Day” is celebrated every year. It is an official holiday in Pakistan however many people in Pakistan do not know that it is a public holiday in pakistan and do not celebrate the day and go to work as normal.
May Day India
In india May Day is celebrated as a National Holiday. It is called Labor day and in on the 1st of May every year.
Malaysia Hari Buruh – May Day
“Hari Buruh” is Labour day in Malay. In Malaysia workers day is on 1st of May every year, and it is an official public holiday in Malaysia.
Workers day in New Zealand
If you were expecting a Google Doodle in New Zealand for May Day you may have to check the search engine again on the fourth Monday in October. New Zealand are only celebrating Labor day in October. Although New Zealand have a more than 100 years tradition of celebrating Workers day they do not celebrate it in May.
May Day in the Philippines
In the Philippines they do celebrate “May Day” on the 1st of May and it is also declared a National Public Holiday. Providing much relieve to the Phillippines work force.
Trinidad and Tobago Workers day
In Trinidad and Tobago May day is not celebrated in May. In Trinidad and Tobago they celebrate National Workers day on the 19th of June. The holiday was proposed in 1973 to be commemorated on the anniversary of the 1937 Butler labour riots. Workers day is now an official holiday in June in Trinidad and Tobago.
May Day in Syria and Egypt
Workers day is celebrated in Syria and Egypt and in both these countries the 1st day of May is celebrated as a National Holiday for workers.
May Day in the United States
In the United States of America May Day is not officially celebrated as a public holiday. It is however celebrated by many American’s Settlers from European origins. In Europe May Day is celebrated in many countries on the continent and when these settlers came to America they brought this traditions with them.
According to Wikipedia, May Day is celebrated in the United States by May Baskets are made. These are small baskets usually filled with flowers or treats and left at someone’s doorstep. The giver rings the bell and runs away. The person receiving the basket tries to catch the fleeing giver. If they catch the person, a kiss is exchanged.
Modern May Day ceremonies in the U.S. vary greatly from region to region and many unite both the holiday’s “Green Root” (pagan) and “Red Root” (labor) traditions. The 1st of May in the United States are also recognized as Law Day.
May Day in the Pacific USA
In Hawaii, May Day is also known as Lei Day, and is normally set aside as a day to celebrate island culture in general and native Hawaiian culture in particular. Invented by a poet and a local newspaper columnist in the 1920s, it has since been adopted by state and local government as well as the residents, and has taken on the sense of a general spring celebration. –
May Day in the United Kingdom
Traditional British May Day rights and celebrations include Morris dancing, crowning a May Queen and celebrations involving a Maypole. Much of this tradition derive from the pagan Anglo-Saxon and customs held during the Old English name for the month of May meaning Month of Three Milkings along with many Celtic traditions.
May Day has been a traditional day of festivities throughout the centuries. May Day is most associated with towns and villages celebrating springtime fertility and revelry with village fetes and community gatherings. Since the reform of the Catholic Calendar, May 1st is the Feast of St Philip & St James, they became the patron saints of workers.
Seeding has been completed by this date and it was convenient to give farm labourers a day off. Perhaps the most significant of the traditions is the Maypole, around which traditional dancers circle with ribbons.
May Day was abolished and its celebration banned by puritan parliaments during the Interregnum, but reinstated with the restoration of Charles II in 1660. 1 May 1707 was the day the Act of Union came into effect, joining England and Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. – Source Wikipedia May Day.
The Wikipedia have an excellent article about May Day as a Pagan Holiday. For more information on May Day we recommend that you read the Wikipedia
article.
May Day in South Africa
In South Africa the 1st of May is celebrated on the 1st day of May. The day was officially declared a public holiday in 1994 although it were unofficially celebrated in the country for many years prior to 1994. In today’s economic uncertainty many workers choose to not celebrate workers day and to work instead!
May Day in Germany
Since 1933 Germans celebrate the 1st of May as workers day. The 1st of May is an official holiday in Germany, many political parties and unions host activities related to work and employment on May Day. In some rural areas of Germany May Day of pagan origin are traditionally held on the night before May Day, including bonfires and the wrapping of a maypole. Young people use this opportunity to party, while the day itself is used by many families to get some fresh air.
May Day in France
On May 1, 1561, King Charles IX of France received a lily of the valley as a lucky charm. He decided to offer a lily of the valley each year to the ladies of the court. At the beginning of the 20th century, it became custom to give a sprig of lily of the valley, a symbol of springtime, on May 1. The government permits individuals and workers’ organisations to sell them tax-free. It is also traditional for the lady receiving the sprig of lily of the valley to give a kiss in return. Nowadays, people may present loved ones either with bunches of lily of the valley or dog rose flowers.
Ireland May Day
May Day has been celebrated in Ireland since pagan times as the feast of Bealtaine and in latter times as Mary’s day. Traditionally, bonfires were lit to mark the coming of summer and to banish the long nights of winter. Officially Irish May Day holiday is the first Monday in May. Old traditions such as bonfires are no longer widely observed, though the practice still persists in some communities, such as Arklow, County Wicklow
The May Day Google Doodle
The May Day Google Doodle is not available internationally at the time of writing this article. It would be intersting to see if the Google (International) page will display the Google May Day Google Doodle. We have taken a screenshot of the Google May Day Doodle for those who missed or could not see the May Day Doodle. Here at Car Site we love Google Doodle day’s and always find it interesting to learn new things, about people, events and special days celebrated around the world.
In the Google Doodle 1st May 2012 you can see a worker holding up a Google Sign.
