May Day! May Day!

Today is May 1, commonly referred to as May Day. This ancient Celtic celebration was the second most important holiday for the Druids. May Day has a Pagan (pre-Christian) connection. When the Romans occupied the British Isles, May Day was a fertility ritual in which a Maypole or Maytree symbolized, of course, fertility.
Later, the Puritans in 17th-century England discouraged the practice of May Day customs (shocker!). Meanwhile, the holiday was very popular in France during the French Revolution. Here, Maypoles and Maytrees were called "liberty trees."
In the U.S., the Puritans continued to ban May Day rites. Nonetheless, the holiday and its customs-- especially the crowning of a May Queen-- survived in the New Republic.
In modern times, there have been a number of references to May Day in pop culture. For example, 1970s British rock gods Led Zeppelin sang the hit song "Stairway to Heaven," which contained the lyrics: '...It's just a sprinkling for the May Queen.' Lead singer Robert Plant has a lifelong obsession with all things pertaining to ancient Celtic culture. (I got that off Zeppelin's Behind the Music!)
To learn more about the history of May Day and/or other holidays, go to: http://www.theholidayspot.com/mayday/history.htm.
Aside: "May Day! May Day!" is apparently the new official battle cry of the GOP. The party would have to clone Lincoln in order to become relevant again. Even if that were possible, the Republican base wouldn't like its genetically engineered "leader."
Speaking of Lincoln, I've written yet another article about him on Suite101. This one's called "President Lincoln's Generals: The Union Army Went Through Eight Generals Before Civil War Victory." Teaser: During the Civil War, the Union Army suffered crushing defeats under the command of seven different generals. The eighth and final general led the Union to victory...
(See yesterday's post for link.)