May Parade

May day is an international working class holiday. There are lots of arts, crafts, speakers and parades held on Mayday.

The Saxons began Mayday in pagan Europe; the Catholic Church outlawed the celebrations because people wore animal masks and costumes.

May 1st was the day picked because of spring planting. They ancient Celts and Saxons celebrated May 1st as the "day of fire". The Celtic people had two seasons, winter and summer. May 1st was the first day of summer and the start of the warm weather.

Today, all over the world people celebrate by having parades and doing different traditions children often gather May baskets and give them to friends.

Locally we have a May Day Parade. It is called the Maine State Parade where local businesses create floats and school bands compete. It is held on the 1st Saturday in May.

This page created by Logan & Brian (2001)