May Day: Maypoles and Mayhem
Historically, May Day conjures images of maypoles, baskets of flowers, picnics and the coming of summer. And to the romantic and “old-fashioned” folks, it still does. Below is a clip from the 1973 Wicker Man with Paul Giovanni singing Maypole Song.
But on May 1, 1886, the Haymarket Riots soon changed May Day to a remembrance of the common laborers who died in these demonstrations. The International Socialist Conference dubbed the holiday, International Workers Day.
On May 1 of that year, Chicago and other select cities were the site of a major union demonstration in support of the eight-hour workday. The Chicago protests were meant to be part of several days of action. On May 3, a strike at the McCormick Reaper plant in the city turned violent. The following day, a peaceful meeting at Haymarket Square became even more so.
In the late 50s, the Cold War had created an anti-communist fervor. In July of 1958, President Eisenhower signed a resolution named May 1 “Loyalty Day” in an attempt to avoid any hint of solidarity with the “workers of the world” on May Day.
My Regency story, Rhapsody and Rebellion was woven around a worker’s rebellion in England and Scotland, beginning with the Peterloo Massacre. This print book will be the giveaway for the month of May.
So, what kind of May Day do you celebrate? Traditional, socialist in honor of the workers, or Loyalty Day?
My Regency story, Rhapsody and Rebellion was woven around a worker’s rebellion in England and Scotland, beginning with the Peterloo Massacre.
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