NationStates Jolt Archive

Today is May 1st! Happy May Day to all workers!

Btw, is May 1st a holiday in your own country?

poll coming...

Mayday! Mayday!

Lassen Sie Die Arbeit Sie Frei Bilden!

Today is May 1st! Happy May Day to all workers!

Btw, is May 1st a holiday in your own country?

poll coming...

Umm strange that one. I'm sure that here in the UK, when I was a kid 1st of May was always a bank holiday, now I guess they have moved it to the nearest Monday, as that is when our next bank holiday is?

:D

May Day isn't an official one here in Japan. However, it does fall during "Golden Week", a set of national holidays on 4/29 and 5/3-5 (thru 6 this year, as 3's a Sunday).

I just got back from my union (http://www.generalunion.org/)'s activities: a rally and march with the Zenrokyo Federatioin we're affiliated with and later a demo regarding nasty changes to immigration laws here.

We've gained a large contengent of Latin American workers in the last year, who're getting shafted by Kubota. :mad: They added a lovely noisey element bringing drums and shrill whistles - my ears are still ringing! :D

I'll post pics later...

Mayday! Mayday!

Lassen Sie Die Arbeit Sie Frei Bilden!

Liberté, égalité, fraternité!

I'm in the central US and I have known people to celebrate May Day, but I was unaware of any connection to International Workers Day. But since our celebrations consist of making baskets of candy and whatnot, leaving them by people's front doors, ringing the doorbell, and running away before they can answer, I'm not entirely sure what we were celebrating. :confused:

I think I'll just stay blissfully ignorant. :p

I don't care. I get birthday presents all the same :p

International Workers Day?

From a cold war era period person, more like the holy day of the International Communist Party.

I'm in the central US and I have known people to celebrate May Day, but I was unaware of any connection to International Workers Day. But since our celebrations consist of making baskets of candy and whatnot, leaving them by people's front doors, ringing the doorbell, and running away before they can answer, I'm not entirely sure what we were celebrating. :confused:

I think I'll just stay blissfully ignorant. :p

Has to do with the Chicago Haymarket Massacre of unionists back in 1886.

United States

The United States has its own Labor Day holiday, celebrated on the first Monday in September instead of on May Day. The U.S. version of Labor Day was a creation of the Knights of Labor, and was adopted officially in 1887 in an effort to disassociate labor activism from the radical left. Subsequent efforts to officially switch Labor Day to the international date of May 1 have failed. In 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower proclaimed May 1 both as Loyalty Day and as Law Day.

Despite the prevailing sentiment for observance of Labor Day in September, some unions and union locals in the United States — especially in urban areas with strong support for organized labor — have attempted to maintain a connection with more radical labor traditions through their own unofficial observances on May 1. Some of the largest examples of this occurred during the Great Depression of the 1930s when thousands of leftist workers marched in May Day parades in New York's Union Square.

There are many examples in the U.S. of people honoring both May 1's "Green Root" (pagan) and "Red Root" (labor) traditions. Among the largest is the May Day Parade and Pageant created by In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre, an event that has taken place every year since 1974 in Minneapolis and now attracts some 35,000 people.[5]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Workers%27_Day#United_States

May Day, you say?

"Get back to work!", I say. :p




Anyway, I'll be celebrating May Day in only the most acceptable of fashions; By laying off half of my labor force while giving myself a bonus at the expense of the tax payer. It's a dirty job, but somebody's gotta do it.

http://www.alamedareport.org/images/we_the_people_rich.gif

When it happens to fall on a Monday, yes.

International Workers Day?
From a cold war era period person, more like the holy day of the International Communist Party.

Excuse me?
What's got the May Day to do with the Cold War?

wiki: international workers' day

International Workers' Day is the commemoration of the Haymarket Massacre in Chicago in 1886, when Chicago police fired on workers during a general strike for the eight hour day, killing a dozen demonstrators.In 1889, the first congress of the Second International, meeting in Paris for the centennial of the French Revolution and the Exposition Universelle, following a proposal by Raymond Lavigne, called for international demonstrations on the 1890 anniversary of the Chicago protests. These were so successful that May Day was formally recognized as an annual event at the International's second congress in 1891.

May 1 is a national holiday in Albania, Armenia, Argentina, Aruba, Austria, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, China, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Iraq, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Kenya, Latvia, Lithuania, Lebanon, Macedonia, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar (Burma),Nepal, Nigeria, North Korea, Norway, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, the Philippines, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Serbia, Sweden, Syria, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

(I'd say that the bolded ones are hardly Cold War nostalgics...)

Italy
The first May day celebration in Italy took place in 1890. It started initially as an attempt to celebrate workers' achievements in their struggle for their rights and for better social and economic conditions. It was abolished under the Fascist Regime and immediately restored after the Second World War.



Quite before the Cold War, isn't it.


You fail.

my nation not on the list so No it's not a holiday here in Oz

my nation not on the list so No it's not a holiday here in Oz

Do you live in Antarctica? :confused:

Maybe you noticed that there's no country in the poll... just continents.

Do you live in Antarctica? :confused:

Australia.

Do you live in Antarctica? :confused:

Maybe you noticed that there's no country in the poll... just continents.

He means the list you posted about it being a national holiday
May 1 is a national holiday in ...

Australia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceania
The boundaries of Oceania are defined in a number of ways. Most definitions recognize parts of Australasia such as Australia, New Zealand, and New Guinea, and all or part of the Malay Archipelago are included in Oceania.[6][7][8

He means the list you posted about it being a national holiday

Oh that one. I thought he was merely being blunt about Australia not being part of Oceania. Sorry then.

Excuse me?
What's got the May Day to do with the Cold War?

"Although May Day received its inspiration from the United States, the U.S. Congress designated May 1 as Loyalty Day in 1958 due to the day's appropriation by the Soviet Union.[14]" :tongue:

-The same article you quoted.

"Although May Day received its inspiration from the United States, the U.S. Congress designated May 1 as Loyalty Day in 1958 due to the day's appropriation by the Soviet Union.[14]" :tongue:

-The same article you quoted.

Loyalty Day? Jesus, that has about as much effort put into it has "Love Day".

"You know something like Happy... Love Day. Just not so crappy"

"Although May Day received its inspiration from the United States, the U.S. Congress designated May 1 as Loyalty Day in 1958 due to the day's appropriation by the Soviet Union.[14]" :tongue:

-The same article you quoted.

I see. So a holiday that was already 60 years old at the time gets branded as "omg commie holiday" 50 years ago ... and we should still stick to that McCarthy-style idiocies, 20 years after the end of the Cold War. :rolleyes:

Loyalty Day? Jesus, that has about as much effort put into it has "Love Day".

"You know something like Happy... Love Day. Just not so crappy"

Loyalty to the United States.

I see. So a holiday that was already 60 years old at the time gets branded as "omg commie holiday" 50 years ago ... and we should still stick to that McCarthy-style idiocies, 20 years after the end of the Cold War. :rolleyes:

It depends on whom you are talking to. I used to think seceding form the Union was resolved 140 years ago.

Loyalty to the United States.

Yeh... I know. Doesn't make it any less of a crappy title!

Yeh... I know. Doesn't make it any less of a crappy title!

But the kids love it.



http://www.funbeach.com/events/loyaltydays/07kids1.jpg

Has to do with the Chicago Haymarket Massacre of unionists back in 1886.

Interesting, though upon looking around the forums, I think what we were celebrating had more to do with Wilgrove's thread about Beltante and the May baskets. It would seem that perhaps I should have posted in that thread instead.

Our worker's holiday is Labour Day, falling on the first Monday in September. The (unsubstantiated) story I've been told is that the government chose a September date to deliberately disassociate any worker's holiday from memories of Haymarket.

May 1st isn't, but the first Monday in May is called Mayday and is a bank holiday.

My parents are taking a trip to Moscow, and will see the May Day parades in Red Square today.

I'm rather jealous.

Umm strange that one. I'm sure that here in the UK, when I was a kid 1st of May was always a bank holiday, now I guess they have moved it to the nearest Monday, as that is when our next bank holiday is?

I seem to remember we have Margaret Thatcher to blame for that.

nah but you fucking communists have shut the bank down on payday so I hope your happy

*does something relevant to the modern age out of spite*

that has about as much effort put into it has "Love Day".

what are you jibbering about love day sounds like the best idea ever

*hands out hugs and unleashes the cute animals*

http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/9166/pebber3xr8.png

May 1st isn't, but the first Monday in May is called Mayday and is a bank holiday.

*morris dances around the maypole*

But the kids love it.

if there is a big America cake going round I'd like some

Happy Soviet Tank Parade Day! Brezhnev Doctrine today, Brezhnev Doctrine Tomorrow, Brezhnev Doctrine FOREVER!

*goes and kills some Czechs, Poles, Germans, Hungarians, Slovaks, etc. for getting uppity*

Personally, I like having Labor Day at the end of the summer, it doesn't impinge on the pleasantness of May Day, a holiday to celebrate spring with picnics, merriment, iced tea, friends, a pick-up game of whatever sport you prefer and a Maypole.

Anyways, industrial labor has never comprised a majority of the work force in the United States. We've been largely agrarian, information or service throughout most of our history, never achieving even the 40% mark.

May 1 is a national holiday in Albania, Armenia, Argentina, Aruba, Austria, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, China, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Iraq, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Kenya, Latvia, Lithuania, Lebanon, Macedonia, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar (Burma),Nepal, Nigeria, North Korea, Norway, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, the Philippines, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Serbia, Sweden, Syria, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

(I'd say that the bolded ones are hardly Cold War nostalgics...)

The Czech Republic does have a communist past (de facto controlled by the USSR following 1968), and 1st May had a huge significance here before 1989 (Velvet Revolution). I guess our politicians are just too populist to cancel a day off, but it certainly does have a relation to the communist party, who introduced the holiday in the first place. The same applies to Slovakia.

My parents are taking a trip to Moscow, and will see the May Day parades in Red Square today.

I'm rather jealous.
Are your parents Communists . . . .?

Happy loyalty day.

Actually, I'm leaning towards reclaiming Mayday. My ancestors have celebrated the coming of spring on this day for hundreds, even thousands of years before industrialization. Stop stealing my heritage, you nuggets.

Are your parents Communists . . . .?

Russia is not Communist anymore. :$

Actually, I'm leaning towards reclaiming Mayday. My ancestors have celebrated the coming of spring on this day for hundreds, even thousands of years before industrialization. Stop stealing my heritage, you nuggets.

...in May? :confused:

Russia is not Communist anymore. :$

Yes thank you Captain Obvious of the 43rd Water Be Wet division . . . but to fly from NYC to Moscow just to visit the May Day parade in Red Square . . . seems like something a Communist would do. There are other reasons as well (though a Communist being the most probable) hence me asking instead of saying, "your parents are commies, boy."

Yes thank you Captain Obvious of the 43rd Water Be Wet division . . . but to fly from NYC to Moscow just to visit the May Day parade in Red Square . . . seems like something a Communist would do. There are other reasons as well (though a Communist being the most probable) hence me asking instead of saying, "your parents are commies, boy."

I would like to see it, and I am a capitalist--it would just be kind of fun, especially if the rally was communist in nature. I know they often use Soviet flags over there, especially in military parades.

I would like to see it, and I am a capitalist--it would just be kind of fun, especially if the rally was communist in nature. I know they often use Soviet flags over there, especially in military parades.

Don't get me wrong, I would see it. What I wouldn't do is pay for a flight from NYC to Moscow plus pay for accommodations in one of the world's most expensive cities to see it.

...in May? :confused:

Yes...it's roughly halfway through Spring. And, it's exactly half a year from November first, which is roughly in the middle of Autumn.

And anyways, you've clearly never lived in Ohio. I was wearing a parka not all that long ago.

Don't get me wrong, I would see it. What I wouldn't do is pay for a flight from NYC to Moscow plus pay for accommodations in one of the world's most expensive cities to see it.

Some persons go to Vienna for a special New Year, and some go to Moscow for a special May Day, I guess.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_Day#Traditional_May_Day_celebrations

May Day, the way it's supposed to be celebrated.

With picnics and Maypoles.

Yes...it's roughly halfway through Spring. And, it's exactly half a year from November first, which is roughly in the middle of Autumn.

I always thought May 1st was the seasonal beginning of Summer, and the end of Spring. ;)

Some persons go to Vienna for a special New Year, and some go to Moscow for a special May Day, I guess.
Yes, probably more often than not they are Communists . . . or Socialists. Hence my asking. :p (We square danced right back to square one)

I always thought May 1st was the seasonal beginning of Summer, and the end of Spring. ;)

Nooooooooooooo...

Nooooooooooooo...

That's like June 21st or something.

That's like June 21st or something.

No no no. It's April 17th.

No no no. It's April 17th.

Now I'm lost.

Now I'm lost.

Close your eyes, click your heels three times, then you'll end up..... in the general vicinity of home give or take a thousand miles.

This day always reminds me when John Wayne sent Nikita Khrushchev Tequila with a card saying Happy Commie day.

Are your parents Communists . . . .?

No. My mom's a Democrat who crosses party lines all the time, and my dad's an independent who leans slightly to the right. We also have some friends who are so conservative that in the Soviet Union, they would have been shipped off to the gulags faster than you can say "Dasvedanya".

They're doing it so my dad can build up extra miles. Last winter he flew to Dubai and spent 4 hours there.

No, I live in a freedom-loving Capitalist country unlike you pinko commie scum. Thanks for asking though. :p

Happy May Day to those who celebrate it, Im currently "celebrating" by working, :(

But, Memorial Day's coming up, in which most people get off, its like the American May Day, lol...

Excuse me?
What's got the May Day to do with the Cold War?

(I'd say that the bolded ones are hardly Cold War nostalgics...)

Italy
The first May day celebration in Italy took place in 1890. It started initially as an attempt to celebrate workers' achievements in their struggle for their rights and for better social and economic conditions. It was abolished under the Fascist Regime and immediately restored after the Second World War.

Quite before the Cold War, isn't it.


You fail.

I must suppose that you never saw any video/film of the old Soviet Union May Day Parade, complete with mock-ups of missiles and nuclear warheads.

Excuse me?
What's got the May Day to do with the Cold War?

wiki: international workers' day

International Workers' Day is the commemoration of the Haymarket Massacre in Chicago in 1886, when Chicago police fired on workers during a general strike for the eight hour day, killing a dozen demonstrators.In 1889, the first congress of the Second International, meeting in Paris for the centennial of the French Revolution and the Exposition Universelle, following a proposal by Raymond Lavigne, called for international demonstrations on the 1890 anniversary of the Chicago protests. These were so successful that May Day was formally recognized as an annual event at the International's second congress in 1891.

May 1 is a national holiday in Albania, Armenia, Argentina, Aruba, Austria, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, China, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Iraq, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Kenya, Latvia, Lithuania, Lebanon, Macedonia, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar (Burma),Nepal, Nigeria, North Korea, Norway, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, the Philippines, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Serbia, Sweden, Syria, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

(I'd say that the bolded ones are hardly Cold War nostalgics...)

Italy
The first May day celebration in Italy took place in 1890. It started initially as an attempt to celebrate workers' achievements in their struggle for their rights and for better social and economic conditions. It was abolished under the Fascist Regime and immediately restored after the Second World War.



Quite before the Cold War, isn't it.


You fail.

I think the poster you are responding to didn't make it clear why May Day brings back memories of the Cold War. On May Day in the good old Soviet Union there was always a parade of military hardware that was widely televised. The Communist to my recollection seemed to take over May Day as a day for themselves. Irrelevant really is the origins of the first May Day. As a former Cold War kid May Day is directly related to the Communist.

May Day isn't really celebrated to a large extent here in America, at least not the same way that Memorial Day or the 4th of July is. There's hippies that have some kind of hoo-ha in the park here, but nobody pays them much attention.

I have never heard of International Workers' Day, but a kid in my class DID give me flowers and a card today. She's only been in my class for three days, so I figured it was just a "thanks for making me feel at home" kind of thing, but maybe not!

I must suppose that you never saw any video/film of the old Soviet Union May Day Parade, complete with mock-ups of missiles and nuclear warheads.

Ris: "The concept of May Day predates the Soviet Union and Communist overtones. Here are some examples."

You-Gi-Owe: "Communism".

*facepalm*