Today is...
May Day
Today
is May Day! People have been celebrating the first of May for hundreds
of years, but for two very different reasons. Our modern observances
have both “green roots” and “red roots.” For some people, May Day is a
celebration of spring—a tradition that comes from the Pagan festival of
Beltane. (These are the “green” traditions.) For others, May Day is a
celebration of workers’ rights, marked by rallies, parades, and marches.
In 1958, President Eisenhower declared that the second type of May Day
celebrations were communist (hence, the name “red roots”), and created a
new holiday called Law Day to take its place.
One
of the most popular May Day traditions is the maypole dance, which was
created by the ancient druids of the British Isles. During the Beltane
festival, people performed a circle dance around a pole. The dance
evolved over the years to include the ribbons and standard weaving
patterns we still use today.
Celebrate
the rich history of May Day by attending a May Day festival, listening
to traditional maypole music, or bringing a bouquet of May Day flowers
to a loved one!
Today is also
Global Love Day
May is
National Bike Month & National Strawberry Month & National Hamburger Month
This week is
Be Kind to Animals Week
mages and text courtesy of MyPunchbowl.com" -- http://www.mypunchbowl.com/
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