May 1, 2011
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The First Day of May Then and Now
May 1st is International Labour Day.
In Russia, it is Spring and Labor Day, a national holiday. Before the breakup of the Soviet Union, each May Day troops would march and tanks would roll through Red Square in Moscow, as in this image from 1963:
This year, they are again holding rallies and celebrations, and in Russia most are peaceful. However, May Day celebrations in Germany this year are more violent, as shown in this news photo from Hamburg today:
Some NeoPagans and less traditional Pagans celebrate Beltane today. Even less traditonal ones, and/or those with conventional jobs, will celebrate over this coming weekend, while more traditional ones will wait until the Sun is at fifteen degrees Taurus, next week.
In England and the United States, non-Pagans used to celebrate this Pagan festival to a much greater extent than they do now.
In Hawaii, this is Lei Day.
In Alaska, we are still waiting for the official start of Breakup, the season that passes for Spring hereabouts. The Nenana Ice Classic is an annual event in which people buy chances to predict when the ice will go out on the Tanana River at Nenana. This year’s jackpot is $303,895. A tripod embedded in the ice is connected to an alarm that sounds when the tripod moves. Last year’s breakup on the Tanana was at 3:47 PM on April 27. As of this morning: “The Nenana River went out in the late afternoon of April 28, 2008. The Tanana River is still frozen from bank to bank with no open water showing. The Tripod is still standing firmly in place.” The confluence of the Nenana and Tanana rivers is shown below, in a photo from the Ice Classic website.
On Xanga, it’s my sixth anniversary here.
(Originally posted May 1, 2008)
UPDATE:/^That was then, three years ago. This May Day blog has been going on since my First Xangaversary, when I posted a triumphant picture of the finish of that year’s roof repairs, and shots from several of our water runs to the local spring, which my readers have seemed to find interesting bordering on bizarre, and we consider just part of the routine, like splitting firewood and fixing the roof.
In ’07, I had included some of my mother’s recollections of maypole dancing, and the usual report on the Nenana Ice Classic. This year (’11), the jackpot for guessing the time that the ice goes out on the Tanana River at Nenana has reached a record high of $338,062.00, and breakup is running a bit late. The tripod was still in place at last report.
Nine years on Xanga, and still here — occasionally.
Comments (18)
Happy Anniversary!
Happy May Day!! And happy anniversary!
Happy anniversary!
May 1st is celebrated as Labor Day here (Sweden), leftish parties demonstrate, recently right winged parties have demonstrated as well. But most people hear just enjoy a day off.
Happy Xangaversary!
May Day -Labour Day- Have a day off work. Has a “certain something” about it!
Happy xangaversary.
I can’t imagine xanga without you.
Happy Xangaversary.
Happy Xanga Anniversary!
I celebrate Beltainne…cool that you acknowledged it!
What’s the gift for the sixth anniversary?
Happy Xangaversary!
@flaminredhead - I celebrate next Tuesday.
Happy Xangaversary!
Happy day!
Haha. I looked around for a “like” to click on. Spending too much time on fb…….Happy Anniversary…….I’ve had a lot of fun on xanga……….most of it on days gone by.
Happy Xangaversary!
@hapax23 - ”Like!” I look for that “like” button on Xanga, too.
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