Summary:
The first day of May was once widely considered as one of the most magical days of the year. It was celebrated throughout Europe as as the hope of good luck and fertility. It is still celebrated today for these reasons.

Details or Sample:
The Magic of Mayday

The first day of May was once widely considered as one of the most magical days of the year. This day was formerly known as the Roman Feast of Floralia and then later the Celtic Beltane Fire festival. Mayday is associated with a number of superstitious beliefs of which many are concerned with the business of prediction and divination, in particular of obtaining information about future partners.

In the olden days, Mayday was celebrated by large processions of people who would make their way to the nearby woods in the early hours. There would be drinking and the blowing of horns as they walked. Today, these "block parties" or street parties still take place in some towns and villages throughout Europe. The merrymaking includes dancing around maypoles, riotous entertainment and music which all have their roots in the ancient fertility rites.

The continual rebirth of nature, which is a symbol of fertility, is honored by decorations of green foliage and garlands of flowers. Once, symbolic battles were staged to represent the struggle between summer and winter. Of course summer always won and took the place of glory. Nowadays, this glory place is occupied by the May Queen, a girl who has been chosen for her wholesome beauty. The purpose of these elaborate festivities was to protect the welfare of livestock and their human owners, and also to bring good luck to the coming season´s harvest.

The Mayday festival has it´s origins in paganism. In the mid-seventeenth century it was temporarily abandoned and all of the maypoles were burned by the Puritans. But Mayday´s popularity eventually won out. The event was revived several years later.

One of the quaint customs practiced on Mayday was when unmarried boys and girl gazed into wells at noon on this magical day to see the face of their future partners. It was said that if one sees nothing at all then they will remain single. (On the dark side, if one saw themselves in a coffin, then they would die within the next year).

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