Connections To The Past!

The celebration of festivals is an important part of our culture as it links us with our past, even if the reason for such celebration has changed over time.

- Ahana Lakshmi

The first of May, for example, was a traditional festival especially before the advent of Christianity. It was observed as the first day of summer in many European countries. The fields that had been prepared after the arrival of spring have now been seeded and the workers would take the day off to celebrate.

Of the various traditions, the crowning of a May Queen and dancing around a maypole were significant. The tradition is being followed in a few places even today. However, nowadays we get a holiday on the first of May for a different reason. May Day is celebrated in honour of the working classes and labourers promoted by the international labour movement. You may have come across the Sanskrit sloka that begins ‘aalasyam hi manushyaanaam’ and goes on to say that there is no friend like hard work. May Day emphasises dignity of labour. Gandhiji said, “If everybody lives by the sweat of his brow, the earth will become a paradise”.