May Day
In the west, the “May Day” holiday is associated with the Labour movement, and the former Soviet Union – with images of parades in Red Square. It may not seem surprising then that a former Soviet Republic decided to keep with tradition and commemorate this day as a national holiday.
Despite its association with the Labour movement, May 1st has long been a special date. It was a festival which celebrated the first planting of Spring in pagan Europe with festivities (which would begin on the previous evening) including games, feasting and a procession to the summit of a nearby hill. In England a Maypole was erected and single men and women would dance around it. Generally, it marked a cheerful and “merry” moment in the year. There were links with ancient (Roman) mythology – with Diana and Herne, who became the Queen of May and Robin Goodfellow, – the “Green Man”, a medieval forerunner of Robin Hood. Although the Church tried to outlaw the festival, they persisted in Europe well into the eighteenth century.
The modern association of May Day as a working class holiday originates from events in Chicago in 1886. The “Knights of Labour” had issued a declaration calling for a maximum working day of 8 hours. In support of their demands strikes were called throughout the United States and Canada. In Chicago, the police attacked striking workers killing six.
A demonstration was held to “protest the police brutality” and by all accounts was passing uneventfully until the last speakers were about to address the crowd. A large force of police moved into the square and told the crowd to disperse. In the melee that ensued, a bomb exploded in the middle of the police, killing eight of them. The police arrested eight anarchist trade unionists claiming they threw the bombs. To this day the subject is still one of controversy – with claim and counterclaim that the bomb was the work of trade unionists or police agents.
In Paris in 1889 the International Working Men’s Association (the First International) declared May 1st an international working class holiday in commemoration of the Haymarket Martyrs. The red flag became the symbol of the blood of working class martyrs in their battle for workers rights.
May 1st, is now designated as “International Workers’ Day”, and is meant to commemorate the struggles of working people throughout the world. It is recognized as a holiday. It is officially recognized in almost every country – but not in the United States, (which is ironic in that the origins of the holiday were based in events which unfolded in the US), Canada, and South Africa.
(Interestingly, in the US the First Monday in September is designated as “Labor Day” – the national equivalent of May Day … and this predates the association of May Day with the Labour movement as it was first commemorated in 1881 … becoming a national holiday in 1894).
In Kyrgyzstan:
Although in the Soviet period, May 1st was a major festival with official parades and celebrations, with many people taking the opportunity to stroll through the parks and city centers in the Spring sunshine, Independence Day (August 31st) has now replaced it in importance and only small gatherings assemble in the main square of the larger towns and cities.
The period from May 1st to May 9 includes three public holidays and at least one weekend – hence, at least some of the intervening days are declared as “non-working days” which means that many businesses and offices will be closed, although shops and restaurants will be open, however, banks will not.
Bishkek