Why is "May 1st Labor Day" also called May Day in English?

Labor Day on May 1st is a worldwide holiday. The official name in English is International Workers' Day.

In many countries, Labor Day is also known as "Labor Day", which has the same name as "Labor Day" in Chinese. But in some English-speaking countries, May Day is mostly called May Day. The reason behind it is related to modern European history and earlier ancient history.

The origin of Workers' Day

International Workers' Day was established in 1889, originally to commemorate a strike conflict in Chicago, USA. This conflict was called "Haymarket Riot", which occurred in 1886, resulting in the death of many workers Ten people were injured.

Five years after the establishment of International Workers' Day, the then US President Grover Cleveland worried that the conflicts commemorated by this holiday would have a negative impact on the United States, so he signed a law to establish an official holiday called Labor Day. , the date falls on the first Monday of September in the second half of the year. A few years later, Canada also established Labor Day on the same date.

Probably to avoid confusion with Labor Day in September, Workers' Day in May is usually called May Day.

British traditional May Day

Britain does not have its own Labor Day, but British English also calls May Day Labor Day May Day. The reason is that as early as more than a thousand years before Workers' Day appeared, Britain already had a tradition of celebrating the arrival of spring in early May. , this day is called May Day.

The traditional May Day in Britain has been regarded as "Pagan Holiday" in history; the so-called "pagan" means that May Day existed before Christianity was introduced to the UK, and it does not conform to the teachings of Christianity.

May Day is mainly celebrated in rural areas, and this tradition is still preserved in many places in Britain today. Celebrations include collecting flowers in the fields to weave Garland, choosing a May Queen among the residents of the village and town, and carrying it for a parade.

On May Day, people will erect a tall wooden pole called Maypole in an open space, and everyone dances around to pray for the prosperity of people and animals.

After entering the 20th century, with the popularization of urbanization, many European countries no longer celebrated May Day, a traditional rural festival, and International Workers' Day became the main celebration on May 1st.

In many English dictionaries, the entry of May Day includes both definitions of Workers' Day and traditional country festivals.

Distress Signal May Day

It should be noted that the internationally used distress call used by ships and aircraft in radio communication is also Mayday, but this word has nothing to do with May Day, but comes from venez m'aider in French, which is equivalent to English The come and help me.