What is the original significance of May Day? It seems to be used by all kinds of groups, heritages, etc..?

Well for starters it is the easiest Holiday to remember; May Day - - - in Pagan Times it marked the start of Summer, no matter how miserable April might have been clearly Winter was over and though still Spring Time, one could definitely look forward to Summer. Lots of flowers begin to bloom and it just seems to be a great time to party. Here is Wikipedia's take "May Day From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This article is about the holidays celebrated on May 1. For other uses, see Mayday. May Day is May 1, and refers to any of several holidays celebrated on this day. May 1 was a traditional summer holiday in many pre-Christian European pagan cultures, and many elements of these holidays are still celebrated on May 1 today, such as the Maypole. While February 1 was the first day of Spring, May 1 was the first day of summer: hence, the summer solstice on June 25 (now the 22nd) was "midsummer." In the Roman Catholic tradition, May is observed as Mary's month, and May Day is usually a celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In this connection, Mary's head (in works of art, school skits, etc.) will often be adorned with flowers. Another May Day tradition (fading in popularity since the late 20th century) is the giving of May baskets, small baskets of candy and/or flowers, usually left anonymously on neighbors' doorsteps. In the United States, May Day is officially observed as Loyalty Day. May Day also refers to various socialist and labor movement celebrations conducted on May 1, unrelated to the traditional celebrations to commemorate the Haymarket martyrs of 1886 and the international socialist movement generally. The latter event is an important holiday in Communist and Socialist countries. In recent years, London based group the Space Hijackers have held events on May Day. These include Mayday Anarchists vs Members of Parliament Cricket in 2005, and a Police Victory Party in 2006. In 2007 the group planned a "Suited and Booted" [1] party in the City of London, the financial centre of London. In addition, May Day in the United States is commonly regarded — at least by certain groups — as a commemoration of the execution of the Haymarket martyrs who were arrested after the Haymarket Riot of 1886 in Chicago, Illinois, which occurred on May 4, but was the culmination of labor unrest which began on May 1. The date consequently became established as an anarchist and socialist holiday during the 20th century, and in these circles it is often known as International Workers' Day or Labour Day. In this form, May Day has become an international celebration of the social and economic achievements of the working class and labor movement. The earliest May Day celebrations appeared in pre-Christian Europe, as in the Celtic celebration of Beltane, and the Walpurgis Night of the Germanic countries. Although the pagan-oriented celebrations faded as Europe became Christianised, a more secular version of the holiday continued to be observed in the schools and churches of Europe well into the 20th century. In this form, May Day may be best known for its tradition of dancing the Maypole and crowning of the Queen of the May. Today many Neopagans, especially Wiccans, celebrate reconstructed versions of the old pagan holidays on May " " Peace...

May Day, to me, is a day to celebrate the workers of the world and their struggles.

May 1st just might have more holidays than any other day of the year. In many countries it's a national holiday! ~ Springtime celebration (Flora) ~ Political protests ~ Neopagan festival (Beltane) ~ Saint's feast day (St. Walburga) ~ Labor Day Today I celebrate Beltane with my family! Bright Blessings to you!

In the Celtic calendar, the first of May is the holiday of Beltane. It starts off the official growing season, when frost is no longer going to ruin planted crops and therefore was called the start of summer. Beltane is a fertility celebration and folk songs reflect this. The following verses are from an English song called "Oak and Ash and Thorn", which are also trees especially revered by the Druids. Do not tell the priest of our rites, For he would call it sin But we were up in the woods all night, Welcoming summer in We bring good news, by word of mouth, For women, cattle & corn The sun is coming up from the south By oak and ash and thorn Below, is one of the oldest British folk songs still in existence. Hal An Tow, Jolly rumbleow We were up long before the day, oh To welcome in the summer To welcome in the May, oh For summer is a'comin' in And winter's gone away, oh Although verses were added to 'Hal An Tow' through the eras, like the verse about the attack of the Spamish Armada on England, this song was an old traditional Maypole song in Shakespeare's time and appears in his play "'As You Like It". This song is still perforned today, in the May 8th celebration in Helston, Cornwall in the UK.

It is the recognition to the labourers. May Day is also known as labourers day.

really it is for those of many cultures who want to be able to make a life in america and be treated equal . there are more than just hispanic illegal immigrants.

No matter how you paint it, I will always picture May Day as beautiful nymphs winding streamers around a maypole in a dance celebrating midsummer. God bless all Pagans.

I believe that May Day is a symbolic day to show solidarity of wokers living all over the world. it is the time to show the world that we workers are united. And tell the governmetn that we aer not slaves, you cannot do torture to us and you must secure our family's well being. It means both protests and celebration. Still, as you see it is used by all groups. You cannot prevent them. Still, they are coming to your path - they are recognising you and telling you that the workers aer great, even if they just want to have thier things don. Razen www.razeno.net

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beltane