Here in Romania, it’s a pretty big deal. It’s a public holiday, so a lot of people have the day off. This year, for example, because it falls on a Thursday, the government decided to make 2 May a day off as well, creating a four-day weekend. Barbecues with family and friends are the national pastime on 1 May. Spending time outdoors in open spaces (“la iarbă verde” - literally “to the green grass”) such as woods, meadows, beaches, parks, etc., barbecuing and having picnics is also a staple. This year, I’m going with my girlfriend and her parents to Italy and Switzerland (Lake Como and Lugano) - which also means we’ll be voting for president abroad (4 May - first round of the presidential elections).
No, it is not in the USA. We have “labor day” on a different day than most nations, namely the first weekend in September, because the wealthy did not want the workers to identify in solidarity with the rest of the world.
And yet Haymarket was in Chicago.
I am of the mind that this current fascist regime has been in the works since the 1980s but has been dreamed about since the late 1800s by the wealthy
Portugal here. Specifically the Azores islands.
We also have that holiday, and it’s tradition for some people to craft dolls to display in front of their houses, often depicting social criticism in a relatively fun way.
The main public library in Paris opens on every single day of the year except one, and it’s not Christmas Day. It’s 1 May.
I found that to be a revealing statement of values.
UK observes it but the actual message behind the day has been long ago supplanted by banks “offering” the Bank Holiday in the first Monday in May. Sometimes it coincides with the 1st May.
So yeah we mostly celebrate “Bank holiday” and gloss over the workers who fought for us to even have these holidays. Its a gift from the Bank apparently…
Yeah, that is a big deal. We have 4 days for celebrate. From 1 to 4 may. Municipalities organize fairs, concerts, etc. But unofficially, these are barbecue days. everyone goes out into nature and roasting meat on grills. And after that we celebrate Victory day from 8 may to 11 may. So many people get 3 days vacation between holidays and don’t work 2 weeks. So, that is like China new year or Japanese golden week.
US doesn’t really celebrate it, but my city pretty much has protests every year.
Then again, we protest anything and everything, so it fits right in. :)
The next nationwide anti-Trump administration protests are scheduled for May Day.
Second this for the US. Nothing major as a nation, but various small things in different areas or cities.
I know Hawaii does a Lei Day- “May day is Lei Day in Hawaii”. Not a full on holiday, but there’s usually festivities of various levels around the islands.
The closest official thing in the US is Labor Day in September. Most people forget it is a workers rights day, though.
From Wikipedia:
More than 150 other countries celebrate International Workers’ Day on May 1, the European holiday of May Day. May Day was chosen by the Second International of socialist and communist parties to commemorate the general labor strike in the United States and events leading to the Haymarket affair, which occurred in Chicago, Illinois, from May 1 – May 4, 1886.
Norway, here. It’s a public holiday and it’s common for workers unions to cooperate and get some sort of event going such as a parade or similar.
Yeah, the left generally considers it a “fighting day” similar to March 8th. The right does gardening (to make it visible that they’re not marching). Others do whatever they feel like; not uncommon to spend the day hung over.
We don’t celebrate it. I think if you buy a calendar, it’ll have the day marked in it.
As a nation we aren’t heavily unionized. Maybe it’s because we.would have just had a public holiday.
Aussies have a public holiday on the 25th of April to remember the sacrifices of our soldiers. The day is called ANZAC (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps) day and there are dawn services.
The day was chosen as the day of the landings at Gallipoli in World War I and was seen as a bit of our emergence of a country in our own right than just another colony of the British Empire.
April 25 is in fact Italy’s day to commemorate the liberation from nazi-fascism
Finland gets May Day fairs in cities - mostly cheap tinsel junk, masks and helium balloons for kids. Students in higher education are mandated to begin boozing morbidly around a week prior and carry on for at least a couple of weeks after. ‘Wabu ei lopu’ = May Day never ends. Communists put on parades. Families make mead and doughnuts. As a kid I thought it as the best festival of the year, I’d always get the noisiest party horn at the fair.
Nothing in Canada, except maybe we put our snow shovels away.
Germany: it’s a day off and there are demonstrations in Berlin.
Banks and some chains like supermarkets get boarded up for the day here. Few helicopters flying around and lots of black masks and clothing. Few burnt Porsche usually too.
Guess where 😆
You’d have to actually narrow it down.
Berlin?
In the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland, kids go door to door and sing to receive a little bit of change. I don’t know where exactly why or when it started but I moved from one canton to the other when I was a kid and opening the door over and over for people sining in front of you was a surreal experience my first year. The following, I went singing myself :)
It’s not really celebrated, but there are always some protests or parades organzied by the leftist party. Last year I ran into one of the parades and receieved a recruitment flyer for ANTIFA.
We burn rich people’s cars and run from police. Quite a celebration. Gives the left a bad name for more centric people.
