Labor Day / May Day Holiday Date in the current year: May 6, 2024

May Day is a traditional spring festival in the Northern Hemisphere. It originated during pre-Christian times and has pagan roots. May Day is associated with such pagan festivals as the Walpurgis Night and Beltane. After the Christianization of Europe, it lost its pagan roots and became a secular spring holiday.

In the late 19th century, International Workers' Day was created. The date of May 1 was chosen by the Second International to commemorate the Haymarket riot which took place in Chicago on May 4, 1886. The celebration was actively promoted by communists, socialists, anarchists and the international labor movement.

Nowadays, May 1 is a public holiday in most countries. In some states it is celebrated as Labor Day, while in the others it is referred to as May Day and has no relation to the labor movement. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, and some other countries it is officially celebrated as a bank holiday on the first Monday in May instead of May 1.