May Day Bank Holiday.

Next May Day Bank Holiday Date 7th May 2012.

May Day has its history in ancient pagan rites of spring as May Day is related to the Celtic festival of Beltane and the Germanic festival of Walpurgis Night. Despite being opposed through the centuries by both Church and State many May Day festivities survive today. Maypole dancing, with its hints of tree worship, was said by the Puritans to be ‘a heathenish vanity’ and was banned with maypole dancing not starting again until after the restoration of Charles II. The Puritans tore down hundreds of village maypoles throughout England and Wales but some have survived with the tallest said to be found at Barwick in Elmet in Yorkshire.

May Day falls exactly half a year from November 1, another cross-quarter day which is also associated with various northern European pagan and neopagan festivals such as Samhain. Its place in the calendar as a bank holiday is the most recent following the first ones legislated for in 1871.It was introduced by the then employment secretary Michael Foot in 1978, just before he went on to lead the Labour Party. At the time many opposed the move saying a May Day holiday was essentially a communist idea because most countries behind the Iron Curtain used May 1 to celebrate International Workers' Day. The May Day bank holiday (Early May bank holiday) occurs on the first Monday in May each year.

The Tourism Strategy, published by the government in March 2011, included a commitment to consult about possibly moving the May Day Bank Holiday to a new date at some other point in the year. The Tourism Strategy set out two suggestions; moving the bank holiday to October to create a UK Day or Trafalgar Day or; moving the bank holiday to the patron saints days of St Georges day (23rd April) and St David’s day (1st March). There is opposition though to the change with Len McCluskey, general secretary of the Unite union, saying ‘The May Day holiday has a history and a tradition in its own right. It is when we celebrate the contribution of working people. So if there is a message to the government it is “Hands off May Day”.