May Day is a holiday that has changed and adapted throughout it's long rich history. During the Roman times, children would gather garlands of flowers, carrying them to the temple of Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers and spring. Brightly dressed, they wound the blossoms around a huge marble column, dancing praises for the rebirth brought by Flora. Later, a tree replaced the column, symbolizing the great "tree of life." Instead of garlands of flowers, children danced around the tree weaving brightly colored cloths to its trunk.

May Day then took form as Beltane, or the day of fire, and was practiced by the Celtic and Saxon societies of Europe. (Bel is the Celtic God of fire.) The Saxons began their May day celebrations at dusk on April 30th. The entire town would spend the evening playing games and feasting as they celebrated the end of winter and the return of the sun and fertility of the soil. Torch-bearing peasants and villagers would wind their way up paths to the top of tall hills or mountain crags and then ignite wooden wheels which they would roll down into the fields. It must have been quite a site!

The Catholic church eventually outlawed the May celebrations in the 1700's. Many church-going people would not take part in the celebrations; however, the majority of the townsfolk would lead the the Goddess of the Hunt, Diana (sometimes played by a pagan-priest in women's clothing), and the Horned God, Herne, up the surrounding hills dressed up in masks and costumes. They would blow their hunting horns while shouting and singing. This night became known in Europe as Walpurgisnacht, or night of the witches.

As people and their traditions changed, the Belatane feastivites began to change as well. The God and Goddess were replaced with fertility deities of the crops and fields in the 1800's. Diana became the Queen of May and Herne became Robin Goodfellow (a predecessor of Robin Hood) or the Green Man. These traditions spread throughout Europe and were changed and personalized by each individual village. The May Queen is said to be the origin of many of the beauty pagents we still have today. Besides the selection of the May Queen, the villagers also participated in raising the phallic Maypole - which is a much changed version of the original "tree of life" that the Romans used in hteir celebrations. The young single men and women of the village would dance holding on to the ribbons until they became entwined with their (hoped for) new love.

May Day became the holiday for the common folk. Robin would play the king or priest fool for the day. He would be the butt of all jokes and rude remarks. It was a time when commoners let many of their frustrations about their living conditions be heard. As would be expected, the state and church didn't like this part of the holidays. They were threatened by rioters and many priests and lords were overturned during these celebrations. Once again May Day celebrations were outlawed.

May Day surfaced again on May 1, 1886 when it became known once again as the commoner's holiday. National strikes in the United States and Canada were called in order to fight for the eight-hour workday. A demonstration in Haymarket Square turned to rioting and death. After such a large price, the laborers won the right to the eight-hour working shift that we take for granted today. In Paris in 1889 the International Working Men's Association (the First International) declared May 1st an international working class holiday in commemoration of the Haymarket Martyrs. The red flag became the symbol of the blood of working class martyrs in their battle for workers' rights. Who knew that our fun flower holiday played such a pivotal role in workers' rights and shaping the world as we know it today?