HAPPY MAY DAY, EVERYBODY!

The earliest May Day celebrations appeared in pre-Christian Europe, as in the Celtic celebration of Beltane, and the Walpurgis Night of the Germanic countries. Many pre-Christian indigenous celebrations were eventually banned or Christianized during the process of Christianization in Europe. As a result, a more secular version of the holiday continued to be observed in the schools and churches of Europe well into the 20th century. In this form, May Day may be best known for its tradition of dancing the Maypole and crowning of the Queen of the May. Today various Neopagan groups celebrate reconstructed (to varying degrees) versions of these customs on 1 May.

The day was a traditional summer holiday in many pre-Christian European pagan cultures. While February 1 was the first day of Spring, May 1 was the first day of summer; hence, the summer solstice on June 25 (now June 21) was Midsummer. In the Roman Catholic tradition, May is observed as Mary's month, and in these circles May Day is usually a celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In this connection, in works of art, school skits, and so forth, Mary's head will often be adorned with flowers. Fading in popularity since the late 20th century is the giving of "May baskets," small baskets of sweets and/or flowers, usually left anonymously on neighbors' doorsteps.

 

++

I have a picture of my mother and her classmates dancing around the Maypole.  By the time I came along, the practice had been discontinued, but we kids did prepare May Baskets, left them on our neighbors' doorsteps, rang their doorbells and then ran like the dickens. 

Those joyous times are gone and now the illegals and others use the holiday to gather and demand their "rights."

---

I'm not that old, but when I was a little kid in school, we danced around a Maypole.  Later, when I found out it was a phallic symbol, I became nauseated.

---

We use to do that IMA....funny you should mention that. It brought back some great childhood memories. I am only 50 by the way. But CM is right... I am now nauseated over all of this crap that is going on.

---

My upbringing included, (a small part of it):

O Mary, we crown thee with blossoms today,
Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May,
O Mary, we crown thee with blossoms today,
Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May,

misterbill said:

My upbringing included, (a small part of it):

O Mary, we crown thee with blossoms today,
Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May,
O Mary, we crown thee with blossoms today,
Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May,

 

Yes, misterbill!  That's exactly what I remember.   Crowning Mary with roses.  It was such a joyful time.

---

I don't remember May poles or baskets, but I remember "May Procession" in Sunday School growing up.  Generally it would be right after First Holy Communion and all the girls would be in their pretty white dresses and veils, white socks and white Mary Janes, the boys in their white suits and white shoes (looked like miniature Pat Boone's in white bucks!).  We'd parade from the church around the corner to a statue of the Virgin Mary, put a wreath of flowers around her head, and flowers at her feet, etc.  Seems to me we'd recite a prayer called Memorare....went something like, "Remember Oh Most Gracious Virgin Mary that never was it known that anyone who fled to thee and sought thy intercession was left unaided...." or something like that.  That was a tough one to learn....being a little kid and having no idea what "memorare" or "intercession" or "unaided", etc. meant but Mother Superior, Sister Ann Theresa and Father Sheehan told us to learn it, so learn it we did!

---

we kids did prepare May Baskets, left them on our neighbors' doorsteps, rang their doorbells and then ran like the dickens. 

Oh, yes that was one of my favorite memories too.  I just asked my 28 year old daughter if she remembered that tradition when she was in school and she said she did vaguely remember making the May baskets.   My grandkids have done this at home, but the schools don't participate.   

Happy May Day               

---

Leave it to the illegal aliens to ruin another American tradition.  Now all I think of for May Day is all the illegal invaders and no ICE in sight.

May Day Now:

     

Happy Uno de Mayo

         

---

Novena: 

"To thee I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful, O Mother of  the Word Incarnate!  Despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me.   Amen."

 

This is also the National Day of Prayer--and boy do we need it--since May Day isn't May Day anymore. 

Firewing's picture says it all--how it all has degraded--illegals trying to invade the country in a bloodless coup.  If we're not careful and don't do something, they'll have it all.

ConcernedMom said:

I'm not that old, but when I was a little kid in school, we danced around a Maypole.  Later, when I found out it was a phallic symbol, I became nauseated.

But it worked, didn't it?  I mean, you became fertile, didn't you? 

---

FireWing said:

May Day Now:

     

Happy Uno de Mayo

         

 

It's gotten so bad, Lou Dobbs had to inform his listeners that May First is "Law Day."  Maybe we should just rename it "Scofflaw Day."

---

Oh, that's a good one, Ima.....Scofflaw Day it is!!

---

One May Day report.. BOSTON — Dressed in Uncle Sam costumes and other red, white, and blue outfits, illegal immigration opponents, including members of Framingham's CCFile, made their presence felt at a May Day labor celebration on Boston Common yesterday. Divided by a brick path and several state police, about 20 vocal protesters from Boston, the South Shore and MetroWest questioned and argued with several dozen of the hundreds of workers at the International Workers' Day event. Mark Cain of Framingham joined CCFile founder Jim Rizoli and others who waved signs that read "Tom Tancredo for a secure America" and "Together We Can Deport Deval Patrick and Illegal Immigrants." "We want to be seen and shown that we don't want to have these kind of people coming in, taking over in large numbers," Cain said before the event. Dorotea Manuela, one of the coordinators of the Boston May Day Coalition event, said the immigrant rights group brings workers together during difficult economic times to celebrate the country's labor tradition. "The people who were the original laborers who made the nation rich, who fought for the 40-hour work week, were immigrants," said Manuela, who stood apart from the crowd. "So there is a kind of double standard going on here." Manuela said that although no amount of yelling would change the protesters' minds, she hoped they would learn through their own struggles that all workers have common problems and need to organize together. "I'm here in support of all workers, no matter what immigration status they have. They work, I work, that's something we have in common," said Chris Persampieri, a Quincy resident who works at a Waltham-based medical journal. Persampieri is the grandson of Italian and Irish immigrants and a member of Boston's Socialist Party, one of the event's sponsors. "There are always angry people who are losing their jobs, losing their benefits and they have the media saying it's the poor immigrants who are making their lives miserable, when really it's the CEOs," he said. Northborough resident Barbara Sands said she went to the event to "let them know that we're not taking this laying down. Every single one of them (illegal immigrants) costs us thousands of dollars." "There is a limit," she said. "All we want to know is who is here and that they're not bringing in leprosy." (Lindsey Parietti can be reached at lindsey.parietti@cnc.com. )

I sent this May Day greeting to ABSOLOT: