The Public Opinion Soapbox

Torgo · Posted: Thu May 01, 2008 1:11 pm Post subject: Happy May Day!

From the Wiki (emphases mine):

"May Day occurs on May 1 and refers to any of several public holidays. In many countries, May Day is synonymous with International Workers' Day, or Labour Day, which celebrates the social and economic achievements of the labor movement. As a day of celebration, however, the holiday has ancient origins and can relate to many customs that have survived into modern times. Many of these customs are due to May Day being a cross-quarter day, meaning that it falls approximately halfway between an equinox and a solstice.

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 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.

May Day can refer to various labour celebrations conducted on May 1 that commemorate the fight for the eight hour day. May Day in this regard is called International Workers' Day, or Labour Day. The choice of May 1st was a commemoration by the Second International for the people involved in the 1886 Haymarket affair in Chicago, Illinois. As the culmination of three days of labor unrest in the United States, the Haymarket incident was a source of outrage and admiration from people around the globe. In countries other than the United States and Canada, residents sought to make May Day an official holiday and their efforts largely succeeded.

For this reason, in most of the world today, May Day has become an international celebration of the social and economic achievements of the labour movement. 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. Alternatively, Labor Day traditionally occurs sometime in September in the United States. Some view this as an effort to isolate American workers from the worldwide community.

May Day marks the end of the uncomfortable winter half of the year in the Northern hemisphere, and it has traditionally been an occasion for popular and often raucous celebrations, regardless of the locally prevalent political or religious establishment. As Europe became Christianized, the pagan holidays lost their religious character and either morphed into popular secular celebrations, as with May Day, or were replaced by new Christian holidays, as with Christmas, Easter, and All Saint's Day. Beginning in the 21st Century, many neopagans began reconstructing the old traditions and celebrating May Day as a pagan religious festival once more."
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AnonyMouse · Joined: 22 Oct 2007 Posts: 405

On the way back from lunch, I heard a caller wish Rush a happy May Day. Rush got all indignant because that's a communist holiday.

paul_milander · Joined: 16 Mar 2008 Posts: 551 Location: Shippensburg, PA

I like May 5 better
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Torgo · Posted: Thu May 01, 2008 4:38 pm Post subject:

Apparently, it's serious business in some quarters:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-ports2-2008may02,0,474763.story
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cookieclaygirl · Joined: 03 Dec 2007 Posts: 1798 Location: shippensburg

i just did some posters for work for "may day"....for the tutoring center and they called it "may day...m'aidez...may day...m'aidez"

m'aidez in french means help me.

haha.

so happy m'aidez.

.45chel · Joined: 26 Oct 2007 Posts: 2748 Location: Chambersburg

AnonyMouse · Joined: 22 Oct 2007 Posts: 405

.45chel · Joined: 26 Oct 2007 Posts: 2748 Location: Chambersburg

No, no, what Rush said didn't surprise me, nothing he says surprises me. He's a doofus.

My question results from reading that you listen to Rush! Don't you know that kills brain cells?!!!
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AnonyMouse · Joined: 22 Oct 2007 Posts: 405

I only listen for 2 or 3 minutes at a time because any longer and I can feel myself getting dumber.

I prefer to listen to talk in the car, so on the way to and from work I listen to NPR. When I go to lunch, I tune into Rush sometimes to see what the wingnuts are hearing. It's sort of like anthropology.

.45chel · Joined: 26 Oct 2007 Posts: 2748 Location: Chambersburg

I dunno, Mouse. It sounds like swimming with retarded sharks to me...
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sassy moose · Joined: 02 Jan 2008 Posts: 250 Location: Virginia

Mister Me · Joined: 23 Mar 2008 Posts: 212

.45chel · Joined: 26 Oct 2007 Posts: 2748 Location: Chambersburg

Happy Birthday, Mister's Son!!!!
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cookieclaygirl · Joined: 03 Dec 2007 Posts: 1798 Location: shippensburg

happy birthday mr.me's son