In 1644, the Puritans banned it as immoral and slothful. Communist dictators celebrate it as a demonstration of their military supremacy and superiority over capitalism. It is tainted by the blood of labor organizers and cherished as perhaps our purest holiday, untouched by commercialism. So, what does May Day mean to us and why has it practically disappeared?
When I was in elementary school, May Day was one of those uncomfortable holidays—like Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day when you knew you were supposed to do something nice for somebody but your success in the endeavor largely depended on your skill with construction paper, crayons and pipe cleaners. My attempts to portray my mom or even a simple, symmetrical Valentine heart always ended up including pictures of battling dinosaurs. It was all I knew how to draw and I suspected my mom secretly enjoyed them.
Although I considered May Day to be a “girl’s holiday” with the flowers and pretty baskets filled with candy, I still felt there was something touching about the custom of making a May basket by hand and delivering it anonymously to friends and neighbors. I don’t know if anybody still does this, but the tradition was, you create a special basket with M&M’s, plastic grass, almonds and maybe a nice note. Then you sneak up the recipient’s door, ring the bell and run away. A variation on this theme goes that if the other person catches you they get to kiss you. (E-e-e-w-w-w!) This, I am sure was just a story to scare little boys and make us run faster because I never heard this actually happened.
The original May Day probably began as a pagan celebration of spring, dating back to the Roman Republic. Then it got mixed up with the 1917 Russian Revolution that started on May first, with military parades and tanks rolling through Moscow’s Red Square, eventually becoming recognized as International Worker’s Day.
The United States declined to join in because we didn’t want to be associated with communism and because of the Haymarket massacre of 1886. Back then, Chicago was booming and Cyrus McCormick was making a fortune with his “McCormick Reaper”. But, with profits soaring at 71 percent, he decided to cut wages by 15 percent. The ensuing protest led to overzealous police firing into the crowd. Somebody threw a stick of dynamite. A hasty trial ended with four protesters hanged.
Recognizing the necessity for America’s own version of May Day, president Dwight Eisenhower introduced “Law Day” on May first, 1958, which continues to this day as a much-anticipated holiday, delighting families throughout the land. Woo woo!
May Day in America is a schizophrenic holiday. It’s not anti-capitalist, but it is resolutely home-made. If you want a May basket, you have to make it yourself. May Day isn’t our Labor Day. It isn’t a military holiday. If May Day exists anywhere anymore, it is in small towns in Iowa or Nebraska or Kansas where mothers still teach their children the craft of May basket making and how to do something nice for somebody. And keep it a secret.