Articles about 'May Day'
May 23rd, 2012
Maypole Dances were traditionally done on May 1st for May Day. One type of Maypole Dance is called a Ribbon Dance. The dancers each hold a ribbon that’s attached to the Maypole. They then dance around the pole, sometimes intertwining ribbons.
Below is a video of a simple and pretty Maypole Dance in the style...
May 7th, 2012
It’s fascinating to learn about old superstitions. Here are some that were practiced in England during the month of May… My favorite is bathing your face in the morning dew in the grass on May 1st to make you more beautiful.
The text is from a book called “The Illustrated London Magazine” from 1855…
“The month...
April 30th, 2012
The poem May Day by American poet Sara Teasdale (1884 – 1933) has lovely imagery. Though it seems to end on a melancholy note, you can think of it in light of appreciating the time on earth we have…
MP3 of May Day
May Day
A delicate fabric of bird song ...
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July 19th, 2011
Monique, a retired teacher in France, wrote to me about a Maypole Dance, "We have a dance related to the May pole tradition." This pretty dance is from Provence…
Monique wrote, "We had the 4th graders dance it when the topic of the ‘fête de fin d’année’ (the end of the school year party) was Occitania. ...
February 11th, 2010
A while ago, we asked about gift giving traditions around the world. Nicola Holdsworth wrote to us from the UK telling us about British holiday and gift-giving traditions. Here’s what she wrote…
We give horseshoes for marriage, oranges form part of the Christingle celebration, usually with candles and ribbon. 21st birthdays are sometimes...
May 20th, 2009
Young nursery rhyme lovers will enjoy this little story featuring Mother Goose characters. Kids who aren’t familiar with a lot of nursery rhymes can learn new ones. I made each character linkable to a page where you can read that character’s rhyme. At the end of the story is an illustration that includes many of...
April 30th, 2008
Monique Palomares of Mama Lisa’s World en français (our site devoted to children’s songs around the world with their French translations) sent me this short post about public holidays in France in May…
It’s too bad for French people this year! Usually, May 1st and Ascension Day are separate public holidays, but this year Ascension Day...
May 1st, 2006
I received this email today…
Do you know the words to:
First of May is Petticoat Day;
Second of May is shoelace Day;
What comes next?
Thank You,
Rose Ann
If anyone knows the words to this saying, please comment below.
Thanks!
-Lisa
May 1st, 2006
In an earlier entry, I wrote about the history of Labor Day.
In case you were wondering, here are some of the countries where demonstrations were held or where Labor Day was in some way honored around the world today (in some cases against the wishes of the government)…
Russia
Belarus
Japan
Germany
Italy
Philippines
Cambodia
Indonesia
Malaysia
South Korea
Malta
Mexico
France
Nepal
Portugal
Sri Lanka
Nigeria
Turkey
Iran
Great Britain
Feel free to comment below...
April 30th, 2006
By Monique Palomares
May 1st : this day has been a protest day in France since 1889 as a tribute to the workers of Chicago who died during the riots in 1886.
It was a day off dedicated to demonstrations (off, but unpaid). It’s been a (paid) public holiday since 1947. There are workers and trade...
April 29th, 2006
On May 1, 1856, workers in Australia decided to strike for one day to demand an eight hour work day.
Thirty years later, in the American city of Chicago, workers made the same demand. Inspired by the Australians, they too began their strike on May 1st. Demonstrations went on, and by May...
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