Introducing the Australian Philatelic Federation May Day May Day is an annual public holiday typically celebrated around the world on or close to 1st May. The May Day holiday commemorates the fight for workers’ rights in some countries where it is known as International Workers’ Day or Labour Day (see the commemorative cover from China to Russia in figure 1). May Day is also celebrated as the coming of spring in much of the northern hemisphere (see figure 2). Different parts of the world have different ways of marking May Day. The celebrations vary but dances, song, and food are common.
Figure 1: China PRC 1 May 1959 International Labour Day FDC to Moscow
May Day Celebrates Workers. May Day was born from the struggle for the eighthour day. On 1st May 1886, there were national strikes in the United States and Canada for an eight-hour day. The red flag was flown at the rally and the centenary of the event is commemorated on the Vietnam stamp shown in figure 3. At a demonstration in Haymarket Square, Chicago, a bomb exploded killing eight policemen. Eight trade unionists were arrested, four were found guilty and executed. In Paris, in 1889, the
International Working Men’s Association declared 1st May an international working-class holiday in commemoration of the Haymarket Martyrs. On 1 May 1890, demonstrations took place in the United States, most countries in Europe and South America. This became an annual event with more and more countries participating. In 1904, the Second International {an organisation of socialist and labour parties, formed on 14 July 1889 in Paris) called on all socialists and trade unionists in every country to “demonstrate energetically” each 1 May “ for the legal establishment of the eight-hour day, for the class demands of the proletariat, and universal peace.” Chinese workers celebrated their first May Day in 1920, following the Russian socialist revolution. In 1927, workers in India observed May Day with demonstrations in Calcutta, Madras and Bombay. By that time, May Day was truly a world workers’ day. The history of Labour Day in Australia spans over a century. Figure 2: Austria 30 April 1990, Black Print Imperf Proof - Centenary of Labour / May Day Figure 3: Vietnam 1986, the centenary of the Chicago Haymarket rally
50 - Stamp News
