What is "may day"

May \May\, n. [F. Mai, L. Maius; so named in honor of the goddess Maia (Gr. Mai^a), daughter of Atlas and mother of Mercury by Jupiter.]

1. The fifth month of the year, containing thirty-one days.
   --Chaucer.

2. The early part or springtime of life.

   His May of youth, and bloom of lustihood.
   --Shak.

3. (Bot.) The flowers of the hawthorn; -- so called from their time of blossoming; also, the hawthorn.

   The palm and may make country houses gay.
   --Nash.

   Plumes that mocked the may.
   --Tennyson.

4. The merrymaking of May Day.
   --Tennyson.

   Italian may (Bot.), a shrubby species of Spir[ae]a ( Spir[ae]a hypericifolia) with many clusters of small white flowers along the slender branches.

   May apple (Bot.), the fruit of an American plant ( Podophyllum peltatum). Also, the plant itself (popularly called mandrake), which has two lobed leaves, and bears a single egg-shaped fruit at the forking. The root and leaves, used in medicine, are powerfully drastic.

   May beetle, May bug (Zo["o]l.), any one of numerous species of large lamellicorn beetles that appear in the winged state in May. They belong to Melolontha, and allied genera. Called also June beetle.

   May Day, the first day of May; -- celebrated in the rustic parts of England by the crowning of a May queen with a garland, and by dancing about a May pole.

   May dew, the morning dew of the first day of May, to which magical properties were attributed.

   May flower (Bot.), a plant that flowers in May; also, its blossom. See Mayflower, in the vocabulary.

   May fly (Zo["o]l.), any species of Ephemera, and allied genera; -- so called because the mature flies of many species appear in May. See Ephemeral fly, under Ephemeral.

   May game, any May-day sport.

   May lady, the queen or lady of May, in old May games.

   May lily (Bot.), the lily of the valley ( Convallaria majalis).

   May pole. See Maypole in the Vocabulary.

   May queen, a girl or young woman crowned queen in the sports of May Day.

   May thorn, the hawthorn.

"first of May," mid-15c. Accounts of merrymaking on this date are attested from mid-13c. Synonymous with "communist procession" from at least 1906. The May Queen seems to be a Victorian re-invented tradition.

May Day is a public holiday usually celebrated on May 1. It is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival. It is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures. Dances, singing, and cake are usually part of the celebrations that the day includes.

In the late 19th century, May Day was chosen as the date for International Workers' Day by the Socialists and Communists of the Second International to commemorate the Haymarket affair in Chicago. International Workers' Day may also be referred to as "May Day", but it is a different celebration from the traditional May Day.

May Day is Matthew Ryan's debut album. It was released in 1997 on A&M Records.

May Day is an early 17th-century stage play, a comedy written by George Chapman that was first published in 1611.

May Day enters the historical record when it was printed in a quarto edition by the stationer John Browne. This was the sole edition of the play prior to the 19th century. The title page of the 1611 quarto identifies Chapman as the author, and states that the play was acted at the Blackfriars Theatre, meaning it was performed by the Children of the Blackfriars, the troupe of boy actors that staged most of Chapman's early comedies.

"May Day" is a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald published in Smart Set in 1920.

May Day is the second solo album released by The Get Up Kids lead singer Matt Pryor. Released in early 2012, the album was funded entirely through the crowdfunding website Kickstarter.

The celebration of May Day is a tradition at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland. Each year, on the nights of April 30 and May 1, students from the college run naked around the flag pole on the campus green.

The tradition began in 1967 after Bennett Lamond, a professor of English, took his freshman English class out to the campus green where they erected a maypole, drank wine, and ate strawberries. Later that night, male students moved the maypole, undressed and danced.

Throughout the 1960s and 70s, students streaked during the day as well as around the flag pole at night. In the 1970s, a case of beer was given to the first male and female students to walk into the liquor store across the street naked. One student, Peter "Miami" Abronski, was arrested in 1978 for indecent exposure and disturbing the peace. He was taken to the county jail, the student population following the police car and congregating outside the jail, refusing to leave until Abronski was released. The situation calmed down when the Dean of Men negotiated the release of the student.

The tradition continued throughout the 1980s and '90s. Until the early 2000s, it was common to see students naked in the town or campus during the day. In recent years, the student body have toned down the celebration, partly owing to the introduction of camera phones and the Internet. Clothing stays on until midnight, when students strip and dance around the flagpole. The school discourages nude May Day celebrations, but its public safety officers are on duty for the event.