What holiday is the official name of May 1st? Public holidays in Russia

Labor Day (May 1, 2014)– International Workers' Day is celebrated in more than a hundred countries around the world on May 1 or the first Monday in May.

In Russia, this holiday is officially called the Spring and Labor Holiday. It is a public holiday and declared a day off.

What holiday is the first of May

On May 1, 142 countries around the world celebrate an international holiday - Labor Day, which was originally called International Workers' Day.
In some countries, Labor Day is celebrated at a different time - these include, for example, the USA and Japan. More than 80 states (including) do not celebrate Labor Day.

• May Day holiday in has undergone slight changes since the times of the Soviet Union, and now it is celebrated annually under the name of the Holiday of the Unity of the People of Kazakhstan and is a state holiday. On this day, festive events are always held to unite all the peoples living in the Republic, because Kazakhstan is a multinational state. More than one hundred and fifty nationalities and nationalities live in it.
• First of May - Living day. IN autumn Slavic holiday - Zhiva (abbreviated form of the name Zhivena, or Ziewonia, which means “life-giving”) is the goddess of life, spring, fertility, birth, life-grain. Daughter of Lada, wife of Dazhbog. Goddess of Spring and Life in all its manifestations. She is the giver of the Life Force of the Family, which makes all living things actually alive.

• Germany celebrates May Day (Maifeiertag) fun and noisy. On this day you can dance, sing, buy useful and funny things at the crafts fair, and listen to music. In a word, have fun and relax. The celebration is held in honor of the regenerating nature, the blossoming spring. Winter has passed - nature begins a new life.
• Beltane or Beltaine Festival was one of the two most important holidays of the Celtic calendar year, which was divided into two equal periods, opening with major holidays - Samhain (Samhain) on November 1 and Beltane (Beltane) on May 1. These dates were associated with the most important milestones of the pastoral calendar - the herding of cattle to summer pastures in the first days of May and their return to the stalls for the winter period by November 1.

history of the holiday

On May 1, 1886, American workers went on strike in Chicago, demanding an eight-hour workday. The strikes and demonstrations dragged on for several days, leading to clashes with the police and casualties (according to various sources, from six to fifty people died).

During popular unrest, an explosion was carried out. On charges of organizing it, four anarchist workers were sentenced to hang. In memory of those executed, the Paris Congress of the Second International in July 1889 declared May 1 as the Day of Solidarity of Workers of the World and proposed to celebrate it annually with demonstrations with social demands.

Demonstration on International Workers' Day in London, May 1, 2013 (AP photo / Lefteris Pitarakis, fototelegraf.ru).

People demand better working conditions for light industry workers during a demonstration on International Workers' Day in Dhaka, Bangladesh, May 1, 2013. (photo AP / Ismail Ferdous, fototelegraf.ru)

Labor Day in Russia

In the Russian Empire, May 1 was first celebrated as a day of international solidarity in 1890 in Warsaw with a workers' strike. Since 1897, May Days began to be political in nature and were accompanied by mass demonstrations.

After the October Revolution of 1917, the holiday became official: workers' demonstrations, parades, and cleanup days were held on this day. On the second day of the holiday, as a rule, “May Days” took place - mass celebrations in nature.

In 1992, the holiday received a new name - “Spring and Labor Holiday”.

Now this holiday no longer brings together many people on the streets, as in Soviet times. Most people try to use this day off for household chores, meetings with family and friends, and the opening of the summer season. Participants of trade unions and political movements of various orientations take part in the demonstrations.

Photo: http://www.orene.ru/upload/iblock/a82/image.jpg

Holidays in May 2015

• Non-working days: May 1, 2, 3, 4, 2015.

• Non-working days: 9, 10, 11 May 2015.

May 1: how many days do we rest?

On May 1, 2014, the long May holidays will begin. The country will rest for four days in a row - from May 1 to 4. Then there will be a short working week - May 5, 6, 7 and 8. May 9, Saturday - a non-working holiday, followed by 2 days off. Then there will be a short working week - May 12, 13, 14 and 15. TwoThe next weeks of May, from the 18th to the 31st, will be held as usual.

Russians look forward to the May holidays with special impatience - there are so many days off at the beginning of the month, when the dacha season opens! But if every baby today knows what May 9 means for Russia, then few people can clearly tell us what exactly we celebrate on May 1. Let's figure out together what kind of holiday May Day is.

If we delve deeply into history, then even in ancient times our ancestors organized large-scale celebrations, which took place at the end of April and beginning of May. In this way they tried to appease the gods before starting work in the fields. The Slavs celebrated the departure of the spring cold, held ritual baths in cold water, lit bonfires, and greeted the goddess Zhiva, who, according to legend, revived nature.

The inhabitants of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome worshiped the goddess Maya, who was the patroness of farmers. In the last month of spring, in honor of the goddess and the beginning of the new harvest season, they held a big celebration.

Everyone probably remembers from history that two centuries ago the working day of a poor man lasted from 12 to 15 hours. On April 21, 1856, protest marches were held in Australia by workers who demanded that the working day be reduced to 8 hours without reducing wages. They managed to achieve their goal. And even without bloodshed

In 1886, workers in the USA and Canada also decided to organize rallies and demonstrations to achieve an 8-hour working day, a fixed salary and social guarantees. On this day, every city rebelled. However, the center of the protests was Chicago, where about 40,000 workers took to the streets. Here it was not possible to resolve the matter peacefully. Thousands of workers were fired, and demonstrations were dispersed with weapons. A lot of people died. In memory of the victims, the Paris Congress of the Second International declared May 1, 1890, the Day of Solidarity of Workers of the World and proposed to mark it with demonstrations demanding an 8-hour working day and other social demands. The holiday has become an annual event.

How was May Day celebrated in Russia?

In the Russian Empire, May Day was first celebrated in 1890 in Warsaw. This trend was picked up by St. Petersburg, where in 1981, on May 1, a May Day strike of workers took place. The first May Day in Moscow took place in 1895. Since 1897, May Days began to be political in nature and accompanied by mass demonstrations. In 1917, May 1 was celebrated openly for the first time. In all cities of the country, millions of workers took to the streets with the slogans of the Communist Party “All power to the Soviets”, “Down with the capitalist ministers”.

In 1918, post-revolutionary Russia adopted a law stating that May 1 would be celebrated at the national level.

In the USSR, May Day demonstrations were of great importance. It was a truly large-scale celebration. Organizations have been preparing for it for weeks. In the first years of Soviet power, military equipment entered the parade in honor of May 1, and real performances were staged with acrobatic and gymnastic acts. It was a real holiday that everyone was waiting for.

It had many names. Initially, in the USSR May 1 was called International Day. In 1930, this day was renamed the Holiday of International Solidarity of the Proletariat. During the Great Patriotic War, it was called the Battle Festival of the International Proletariat. After this, the official name appeared - International Labor Day. Since 1997, on May 1st we have been celebrating Spring and Labor Day.

On May 1, 2017, the Spring and Labor Festival is celebrated for the 25th time in modern Russia. May Day is an international and international holiday and is celebrated in many countries around the world. Previously, on May 1, workers' demonstrations and military parades were held on the territory of the USSR, but in today's Russia the holiday has lost its original political character. For most Russians, May Day is a warm holiday, during which the population arranges a truly spring holiday with picnics in nature.

The history of May Day dates back to the Chicago events of the 19th century. Then American workers organized a strike on May 1, 1886, demanding an 8-hour working day, which ended in a bloody clash with the police. In memory of those tragic events, the Paris Congress of the Second International in July 1889 declared May 1 as Workers' Solidarity Day and proposed to celebrate it annually with demonstrations around the world.

In the USSR, May 1 began to be considered a holiday after the October Revolution of 1917. The Soviet authorities decided to hold labor demonstrations and military parades on this day. For many years, May Day was the main public holiday in the USSR, but on May 1, 1990, the official May Day demonstration took place for the last time and after the collapse of the USSR, this day was renamed the “Festival of Spring and Labor.”

In modern Russia, May 1 is celebrated as the Spring and Labor Festival. The same name is used in Tajikistan. In Ukraine, International Workers' Day is still celebrated on this date. In Kazakhstan, on May 1, the Day of Unity of the People of Kazakhstan is celebrated, and in Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, China, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, Labor Day is celebrated.

But no matter what the first day of May is called - the Holiday of Spring and Labor or the Day of Workers' Solidarity, it, as before, for many symbolizes the arrival of spring and rebirth. In Russia, it carries a great emotional charge, associated not only with the feeling of the spring awakening of nature, but also with the perception of May 1 as a common celebration that unites all Russians.

Currently, everyone: schoolchildren, students, and workers knows that the first of May and the following dates are official holidays. These are those sunny days on which you can simply relax at the dacha with friends or go on a trip and not think about any business. But does everyone know why exactly the first days of May became a weekend? We will tell you in detail, what kind of holiday is May 1st?
Everyone knows that May 1 is a holiday of spring and labor, and the May Day day off is celebrated in honor of workers. May Day became a holiday in honor of the people who took part in demonstrations in Chicago (USA) in 1886. Working class American citizens went on strike for three days, mostly ordinary workers, merchants, or artisans. But the police opened fire on unarmed people, and as a result, four strikers died, and after the end of the rally, the police began shooting at the workers, on the grounds that a bomb had been thrown at the law enforcement agencies. As a result, this three-day rally claimed the lives of at least dozens of people. In the end, the American government declared the first of May as Labor Day, in memory of the fallen workers. In 1889, in France, in memory of the victims, the Paris Congress declared the first of May - an international day of workers' solidarity. And next year it was already celebrated in some countries of Europe, Scandinavia and the USA. Currently, this holiday is celebrated in many countries of the world, including Russia. But when did they start celebrating May Day in this country?
The May Day holiday was recognized as official at the beginning of the twentieth century. More precisely, in 1917, workers' solidarity day began to be celebrated in all cities of the USSR. Soviet people truly fell in love with this holiday, and it became a tradition for them to celebrate May Day outdoors or at the dacha in the company of friends and relatives. Later May Day was renamed. It began to be called . Of course, it’s understandable why the holiday began to be called Labor Day, but why spring? As everyone knows, May is the last month of spring, so wouldn’t it be more logical to celebrate spring day in the first month of this wonderful time of the year? It's simple, in May nature awakens from sleep, and all the streets are filled with colorful green lawns, and it is in May that the real spring time comes. People have always rejoiced at such a renewal of nature, and therefore on the first of May, on the Spring Festival, they went out to demonstrations, where they met with friends. Many went to visit or, on the contrary, received friends at home. And a distinctive feature of the May holidays was the festive table, at which all family members and their friends gathered, and so they welcomed the new arrival of spring - a warm, bright spring.
Until now, every year people celebrate the first days of May and send each other

The holiday, which is celebrated in Russia, the USA and a number of countries in Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia on the first day of May, is known under several names - International Workers' Day, Spring and Labor Day, Labor Day, Spring Day. In Soviet times, most Russians named this holiday by the date it was held - May 1 or May Day.

The emergence of the tradition of celebrating May Day is associated with events that occurred in Chicago in the 19th century. On May 1, 1886, large-scale rallies and demonstrations of workers began in the city, demanding that their employers introduce an eight-hour working day.

The protest ended in clashes with the police. On May 3, at Cyrus McCormick's reaper plant, police opened fire on strikers, killing at least two workers. On May 4, at a protest rally in Haymarket Square, a terrorist threw a bomb at police, who responded by firing into the crowd. Sixty police officers were injured, eight were killed, and the exact number of workers killed was not determined. The police arrested hundreds of townspeople, and seven anarchist workers were sentenced to death.

In July 1889, the Paris Congress of the Second International, at the proposal of the French delegate Raymond Lavigne, as a sign of solidarity with Chicago workers, decided to hold annual labor demonstrations on May 1.

On May 1, 1890, the holiday was first held in Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Italy, USA, Norway, France and Sweden. In the UK it took place on May 4th. The main slogan of the demonstrations was the demand for an eight-hour working day.

In 1891, by decision of the Brussels Congress of the Second International, sections of the International in each country were given the right to independently set the date and form of celebration of May 1, after which in Great Britain and some other countries the demonstrations were moved to the first Sunday in May.

On May 1, 1891, the Social Democratic group of revolutionary Mikhail Brusnev organized the first festive gathering of workers in Petrograd (now St. Petersburg).

The form of May Day celebration was the May Day - an illegal revolutionary meeting of workers, usually held outside the city.

On July 30, 1928, by a resolution of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR, the weekends of Soviet citizens became longer, and there were two Days of the International - May 1 and 2.

On May 1, 1933, it passed over Red Square. From this point on, air parades were held regularly until the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, as an integral part of the demonstration of Soviet military power. The achievements of the Soviet aviation industry were shown at the parades - the Maxim Gorky aircraft, the fastest fighter of its time, the I-16, and others.

During the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945), parades and processions in honor of May 1 were not held.

On May 1, 1956, a television report was made for the first time about a military parade and a demonstration of workers on Red Square. Since that time, festive events on Red Square have been broadcast annually by central television channels.

In 1970, the Fundamentals of USSR Labor Legislation assigned a new name to the holiday: May 1 and 2 officially became International Workers' Days.

On May 1, 1990, during a demonstration, an alternative column with anti-communist and anti-Soviet slogans entered Red Square. USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev and other leaders of the country left the podium of the Mausoleum, the television broadcast of the event was stopped, and the military parade did not take place.

In 1992, by a resolution of the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation dated June 30, Workers' Solidarity Day was renamed the Spring and Labor Holiday.

In 1993, the May Day workers' demonstration in Moscow ended in riots. According to official data, several dozen people were injured as a result, and a riot police officer was killed.

In 2001, the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (Article 112), adopted on December 30, made May 2 a working day. There was only one day remaining as the Spring and Labor Holiday - May 1.

The Spring and Labor Day is celebrated in Russia with mass demonstrations and rallies, folk festivals and concerts.

In 2016, people took part in the festive events on Spring and Labor Day in Russia; more than 2 thousand rallies and processions took place in 1.2 thousand cities and towns.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources