Misplaced Pages

#905094

63-494: Moving Day may refer to: Moving Day (Quebec) , a traditional moving day in the province of Quebec Moving Day (New York City) or "Rent Day", a traditional moving day in New York City Moving Day (poetry collection) , a book of poetry by Ralph Fletcher Moving day, a golfing term referring to the penultimate day of a golf tournament when competitors try to move up

126-623: A May crowning . 1 May is also one of two feast days of the Catholic patron saint of workers St Joseph the Worker , a carpenter, husband to Mother Mary , and foster father of Jesus . Replacing another feast to St. Joseph, this date was chosen by Pope Pius XII in 1955 as a counterpoint to the communist International Workers' Day celebrations on May Day. The best known modern May Day traditions, observed both in Europe and North America, include dancing around

189-636: A Maypole , May Tree or May Bush, around which people dance and sing. Bonfires are also a major part of the festival in some regions. Regional varieties and related traditions include Walpurgis Night in central and northern Europe, the Gaelic festival Beltane , the Welsh festival Calan Mai , and May devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary . It has also been associated with the ancient Roman festival Floralia . International Workers' Day observed on 1 May

252-570: A "United Kingdom Day". Similarly, attempts were made by the John Major government in 1993 to abolish the May Day holiday and replace it with Trafalgar Day. Unlike the other Bank Holidays and common law holidays, the first Monday in May is taken off from (state) schools by itself, and not as part of a half-term or end of term holiday. This is because it has no Christian significance and does not otherwise fit into

315-559: A May Bush was reported as being suppressed by law and the magistrates in Dublin in the 18th century. The tradition of lighting bonfires has survived in parts of the country, and other traditions continue to be revived as local cultural events. May Day has been celebrated in Scotland for centuries. It was previously closely associated with the Beltane festival. Reference to this earlier celebration

378-472: A May Bush: typically a thorn bush or branch decorated with flowers, ribbons, bright shells and rushlights. Holy wells were also visited, while Bealtaine dew was thought to bring beauty and maintain youthfulness. For almost two centuries, the Dublin suburb of Finglas was well known for its "May Games" and its maypole "was one of the last to survive in Dublin", according to historian Michael J. Tutty. Throughout

441-521: A less debauched version of it was briefly restored during the reigns of Arcadius and Honorius , only to be suppressed again during the same period. During the Middle Ages, May Eve was celebrated in much of northern Europe with the lighting of bonfires at night. In the Germanic countries, this became Walpurgis Night , commemorating the official canonization of Saint Walpurga on 1 May 870. It continued

504-730: A major event in the town calendar. A traditional sweeps festival is performed over the May bank holiday in Rochester, Kent , where the Jack in the Green is woken at dawn on 1 May by Morris dancers. At 7:15 p.m. on 1 May each year, the Kettle Bridge Clogs morris dancing side dance across Barming Bridge (otherwise known as the Kettle Bridge), which spans the River Medway near Maidstone , to mark

567-461: A pagan religious festival. In rural regions of Germany, especially the Harz Mountains, Walpurgisnacht celebrations are traditionally held on the night before May Day, including bonfires and the wrapping of a Maibaum (maypole). Young people use this opportunity to party, while the day itself is used by many families to get some fresh air. Motto: "Tanz in den Mai" ( "Dance into May" ). In

630-501: A patriotic Canadian holiday ignore the fact that the change in date from May 1 to July 1 was the result of a bill introduced by a federalist MNA, Jérôme Choquette of the Quebec Liberal Party . Although moving day is seen as a headache for most people, Montreal-based columnist Josée Legault sees a few positive aspects in the annual festival, pointing out that July 1 occurs at the end of the school year, not two months before as

693-507: A sacrifice to Flora. Maiouma was celebrated at least as early as the 2nd century AD, when records show expenses for the month-long festival were appropriated by Emperor Commodus . According to the 6th-century chronicles of John Malalas , the Maiouma was a "nocturnal dramatic festival, held every three years and known as Orgies, that is, the Mysteries of Dionysus and Aphrodite " and that it

SECTION 10

#1732854781906

756-560: A song of Spring. In Oxford , it is a centuries-old tradition for May Morning revellers to gather below the Great Tower of Magdalen College at 6   am to listen to the college choir sing traditional madrigals as a conclusion to the previous night's celebrations. Since the 1980s some people then jump off Magdalen Bridge into the River Cherwell . For some years, the bridge has been closed on 1 May to prevent people from jumping, as

819-417: A village green (twmpath chwarae). Many places across Great Britain and the world have begun to syncretize May Day and Beltane customs, hosting events that feature elements of both. On May Day, Bulgarians celebrate Irminden (or Yeremiya, Eremiya, Irima, Zamski den). The holiday is associated with snakes and lizards and rituals are made in order to protect people from them. The name of the holiday comes from

882-515: A year long and begin around July 1. In 2004, approximately 120,000 households moved on or around July 1, corresponding to 4% of the population. In 2013, the government of Montreal estimated that about 115,000 city residents moved each year, or about 7% of the city's 1.6 million people. Moving Day is a boon and a headache for commercial moving companies, and people must reserve their services in advance, more than six months before moving day in some cases. During this period, moving companies work around

945-578: Is also called "May Day", but the two have different histories. The earliest known May celebrations appeared with the Floralia , festival of Flora , the Roman goddess of flowers, held from 27 April–3 May during the Roman Republic era, and the Maiouma or Maiuma , a festival celebrating Dionysus and Aphrodite held every three years during the month of May. The Floralia opened with theatrical performances. In

1008-422: Is an emerging Durham tradition, with patchy observance since 2001. Kingsbury Episcopi , Somerset, has seen its yearly May Day Festival celebrations on the May bank holiday Monday burgeon in popularity in the recent years. Since it was reinstated 21 years ago it has grown in size, and on 5 May 2014 thousands of revellers were attracted from all over the south-west to enjoy the festivities, with BBC Somerset covering

1071-416: Is considered a Ysbrydnos or spirit night when people would gather hawthorn ( draenen wen ) and flowers to decorate their houses, celebrating new growth and fertility. While on May Day celebrations would include summer dancing ( dawnsio haf ) and May carols ( carolau mai or carolau haf ) othertimes referred to as "singing under the wall" ( canu dan y pared), May Day was also a time for officially opening

1134-596: Is decorated with springtime greenery, and every year thousands of onlookers attend. Before the 19th century, distinctive May Day celebrations were widespread throughout West Cornwall, and are being revived in St Ives and Penzance . A similar 'Obby 'Oss festival is also held in the Somerset town of Minehead , dating back to at least the 19th century. Kingsand , Cawsand and Millbrook in Cornwall celebrate Flower Boat Ritual on

1197-462: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Moving Day (Quebec) The tradition began as a humanitarian measure of the French colonial government of New France , who forbade seigneurs , the semi-feudal landlords of the seigneuries , from evicting their tenant farmers before the winter snows had melted. . Historian Yvon Desloges notes that it

1260-568: Is found in poem 'Peblis to the Play', contained in the Maitland Manuscripts of 15th- and 16th-century Scots poetry: At Beltane, quhen ilk bodie bownis To Peblis to the Play, To heir the singin and the soundis; The solace, suth to say, Be firth and forrest furth they found Thay graythis tham full gay; God wait that wald they do that stound, For it was their feast day the day they celebrate May Day, Thay said, [...] The poem describes

1323-416: Is often recited during these days) and Petřín . This is usually done under a cherry, an apple or a birch tree. Traditional English May Day rites and celebrations include crowning a May Queen and celebrations involving a maypole , around which dancers often circle with ribbons. Morris dancing is also often performed as part of May Day celebrations. The earliest records of maypole celebrations date to

SECTION 20

#1732854781906

1386-577: Is to prepare "podnici" (special clay pots made for baking bread). This day is especially observed by pregnant women so that their offspring do not catch "yeremiya"—an illness due to evil powers. In the Czech Republic , May Day is traditionally considered a holiday of love and May as a month of love. The celebrations of spring are held on 30 April when a maypole ("májka" in Czech) is erected—a tradition possibly connected to Beltane, since bonfires are also lit on

1449-558: The Floralia , Ovid says that hares and goats were released as part of the festivities. Persius writes that crowds were pelted with vetches , beans , and lupins . A ritual called the Florifertum was performed on either 27 April or 3 May, during which a bundle of wheat ears was carried into a shrine, though it is not clear if this devotion was made to Flora or Ceres . Floralia concluded with competitive events and spectacles , and

1512-572: The Kingdom of Great Britain . In Cambridgeshire villages, young girls went May Dolling (going around the villages with dressed dolls and collecting pennies). This dressing of dolls and singing was said to have persisted into the 1960s in Swaffham Prior Sing a song of May-time. Sing a song of Spring. Flowers are in their beauty. Birds are on the wing. May time, play time. God has given us May time. Thank Him for His gifts of love. Sing

1575-549: The Octavia Hill Birthplace House, Wisbech has a flagpole which converts into a Maypole each year, used by local schools and other groups. Records from the early 1730s indicate that May Day was the date the new Mayor of Norwich was elected "for the ensuring year". The "Day of Swearing" occurred the following month - June - which saw the Mayor Elect receive his chains of office . The early May bank holiday on

1638-463: The Rhineland , 1 May is also celebrated by the delivery of a maypole, a tree covered in streamers to the house of a girl the night before. The tree is typically from a love interest, though a tree wrapped only in white streamers is a sign of dislike. Women usually place roses or rice in the form of a heart at the house of their beloved one. It is common to stick the heart to a window or place it in front of

1701-491: The maypole and crowning the Queen of May . Fading in popularity since the late 20th century is the tradition of giving of "May baskets", small baskets of sweets or flowers, usually left anonymously on neighbours' doorsteps. In the late 20th century, many neopagans began reconstructing some of the older pagan festivals and combining them with more recently developed European secular and Catholic traditions, and celebrating May Day as

1764-513: The 14th century, and by the 15th century the maypole tradition was well established in southern Britain. The tradition persists into the 21st century across the UK. The village of Ansty in Wiltshire has a maypole that has stood in the middle of a road junction in the village since before 1881; it continues in use every May Day, having been replaced by a less tall pole in the 1990s. Centenary Green part of

1827-515: The 19th century. It was a time for banishing evil powers from the community. On the last three days of April, all houses were fumigated with juniper and rue incense. At sunset on May Day, the people held a ceremony they called "burning out the witches". The church bells were rung and people made as much noise as possible by shouting, banging pots and pans, ringing bells and cracking whips. Men carried lighted bundles of herbs fasted on poles, while women carried censers . Then would run seven times round

1890-570: The May Day/Beltane customs which persisted in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries in parts of Scotland, which he noted were beginning to die out. In the nineteenth century, folklorist Alexander Carmichael (1832–1912), collected the song Am Beannachadh Bealltain ( The Beltane Blessing ) in his Carmina Gadelica , which he heard from a crofter in South Uist . Scottish May Day/Beltane celebrations have been somewhat revived since

1953-466: The beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May , around halfway between the Northern Hemisphere's Spring equinox and June solstice . Festivities may also be held the night before, known as May Eve . Traditions often include gathering wildflowers and green branches ("bringing in the May"), weaving floral garlands , crowning a May Queen (sometimes with a male companion ), and setting up

Moving Day - Misplaced Pages Continue

2016-584: The celebration in the town of Peebles in the Scottish Borders , which continues to stage a parade and pageant each year, including the annual ‘Common Riding’, which takes place in many towns throughout the Borders. As well as the crowning of a Beltane Queen each year, it is custom to sing ‘The Beltane Song’. John Jamieson , in his Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language (1808) describes some of

2079-527: The celebrations. These include traditional maypole dancing and morris dancing , as well as contemporary music acts. Whitstable , Kent, hosts a good example of more traditional May Day festivities, where the Jack in the Green festival was revived in 1976 and continues to lead an annual procession of morris dancers through the town on the May bank holiday. A separate revival occurred in Hastings in 1983 and has become

2142-634: The clock, with moving charges often being three times the normal rate. The short supply of movers in Montreal inspired entrepreneurs to offer a green moving service featuring heavy-duty bicycle trailers . In Montreal , where as of 2019 only 55.7% of residents own their home (the lowest rate of the major Canadian cities), Moving Day is particularly busy and has been described as "a kind of moving madness". Exterior staircases leading up to second, third, or even fourth-storey apartments are common in many neighbourhoods, in part because historically this reduced

2205-479: The date to a holiday, workers would not have to sacrifice a working day. They moved the date from May 1st to July 1 because of the tendency for rough weather in early May. The law repealed sections of the Civil code setting fixed terms for leases as of 1974, but mandated a two-month lengthening of leases for following year as a transitory measure. However, tradition has held sway, and the vast majority of leases are still

2268-664: The doormat. In leap years , it is the responsibility of the women to place the maypole. All the action is usually done secretly and it is an individual's choice whether to give a hint of their identity or stay anonymous. May Day was not established as a public holiday until Nazi Germany declared 1 May a "national workers' day" in 1933. As Labour Day , many political parties and unions host activities related to work and employment. In The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion , Sir James George Frazer reported May Day customs in Tyrol during

2331-418: The early 19th century, during which time cattle would be made to jump over fires to protect their milk from being stolen by fairies . People would also leap over the fires for luck. Since the 18th century, many Roman Catholics have observed May – and May Day – with various May devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary . In works of art, school skits, and so forth, Mary's head will often be adorned with flowers in

2394-521: The eighteenth century, the Finglas maypole was at the centre of a week of festivity which included "the playing of games, various competitions, and, according to one account the crowning of 'Queen of the May'." In a letter written by Major Sirr on 2 May 1803 (shortly after the turbulent 1798 Rebellion ), he writes: Public celebrations of Bealtaine fell out of popularity by the 20th century and many old traditions are no longer widely observed. The tradition of

2457-565: The first Monday in May was created in 1978; May Day itself – 1 May – is not a public holiday in England (unless it falls on a Monday). In February 2011, the UK Parliament was reported to be considering scrapping the bank holiday associated with May Day, replacing it with a bank holiday in October, possibly coinciding with Trafalgar Day (celebrated on 21 October), to create

2520-451: The flames or embers. All household fires would be doused and then re-lit from the Bealtaine bonfire. These gatherings would be accompanied by a feast, and some of the food and drink would be offered to the aos sí , the 'spirits' or 'fairies'. Doors, windows, byres and cattle would be decorated with yellow May flowers, perhaps because they evoked fire. In parts of Ireland, people would make

2583-662: The houses and the village, so that the witches would be "smoked out of their lurking-places and driven away". In Sweden, there are bonfires and outdoor celebrations on May Eve or Walpurgis Night ("Valborgsmässoafton"). Most of the traditions associated elsewhere with May Day are held at Midsummer instead; such as Maypole dancing. Up until the 19th century, on May Day itself, there were mock battles between Summer and Winter. Sir James George Frazer wrote in The Golden Bough (1911): on May Day two troops of young men on horseback used to meet as if for mortal combat. One of them

Moving Day - Misplaced Pages Continue

2646-545: The late twentieth century. Both Edinburgh and Glasgow organise May Day festivals and rallies. In Edinburgh , the Beltane Fire Festival is held on the evening of May eve and into the early hours of May Day on the city's Calton Hill . An older Edinburgh tradition has it that young women who climb Arthur's Seat and wash their faces in the morning dew will have lifelong beauty. At the University of St Andrews , some of

2709-494: The leaderboard Films [ edit ] Moving Day (1936 film) , a Mickey Mouse cartoon Moving Day (1998 film) , a Canadian short film directed by Chris Deacon Moving Day (2012 film) , a Canadian feature film directed by Mike Clattenburg Television episodes [ edit ] "Moving Day" ( The Goodies ) or "The New Office" "Moving Day" ( How I Met Your Mother ) "Moving Day" ( NYPD Blue ) "Moving Day" ( The Shield ) Topics referred to by

2772-467: The official start of their morris dancing season. The Maydayrun involves thousands of motorbikes taking a 55-mile (89 km) trip from Greater London ( Locksbottom ) to the Hastings seafront, East Sussex . The event has been taking place for almost 30 years now and has grown in interest from around the country, both commercially and publicly. The event is not officially organised; the police only manage

2835-462: The prophet Jeremiah , but its origins are most probably pagan. It is said that on the days of the Holy Forty or Annunciation snakes come out of their burrows, and on Irminden their king comes out. Old people believe that those working in the fields on this day will be bitten by a snake in summer. In western Bulgaria people light fires, jump over them and make noises to scare snakes. Another custom

2898-492: The road. According to Hydro-Québec , more than 700,000 Quebec households moved in 2009, including 225,000 on the island of Montreal . The July 1 date of Moving Day also somewhat reduces the significance of Canada Day as a public holiday in Quebec, as many who might otherwise attend holiday festivities are occupied by moving. Suggestions that the move was a deliberate decision by Quebec sovereigntists to discourage participation in

2961-452: The same day. The event is similar to German Walpurgisnacht, its public holiday on 30 April. On 31 May, the maypole is taken down in an event called Maypole Felling. On 1 May, couples in love kiss under a blooming tree. According to the ethnographer Klára Posekaná, this is not an old habit. It most likely originated around the beginning of the 20th century in an urban environment, perhaps in connection with Karel Hynek Mácha 's poem Máj (which

3024-417: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Moving Day . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Moving_Day&oldid=1228829139 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

3087-565: The size of buildings and therefore decreased the owner's property taxes. These staircases are often narrow, curved, and metal – not ideal for nonprofessionals carrying major appliances. According to New York Times writer Ian Austen, "unlike apartments in the rest of Canada, the ones here [in Montreal] rarely come with kitchen appliances, adding to the movers' burdens." Cities also schedule extra garbage and recycling pickups for this period to deal with unwanted furniture and empty boxes left beside

3150-476: The students gather on the beach late on 30 April and run into the North Sea at sunrise on May Day, occasionally naked. This is accompanied by torchlit processions and much elated celebration. In Wales the first day of May is known as Calan Mai or Calan Haf , and parallels the festival of Beltane and other May Day traditions in Europe. Traditions would start the night before ( Nos Galan Haf ) with bonfires, and

3213-559: The sun up' on May Day morning. Jack in the Green is an English folkloric figure who parades through the streets on May Day, accompanied by musicians, beggars, and various other characters. 'Dancing the sun up' is a tradition among Morris dancers to dance at sunrise on May Day, to welcome in the sun and the summer season. It began in Oxford in 1923, and includes dances, traditional May Day songs, and sometimes other activities such as mummers' plays or bonfires. This tradition has since spread across

SECTION 50

#1732854781906

3276-515: The tradition of lighting bonfires. Folklorist Jack Santino says "Her day and its traditions almost certainly are traceable to pre-Christian celebrations that took place at this time". In Gaelic culture, 1 May was the celebration of Beltaine or Cétshamhain , while for the Welsh it was Calan Mai or Cyntefin . First attested in 900 AD, the celebration mainly focused on the symbolic use of fire to bless cattle and other livestock as they were moved to summer pastures. This custom continued into

3339-417: The traditional frenzy surrounding Moving Day in the working-class borough of Saint-Henri in Montreal. Quebec film director Philippe Gagnon used the yearly occurrence as the setting for Premier juillet, le film  [ fr ] , a 2004 light-hearted comedy featuring three households caught in the turmoil of Moving Day. May Day May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking

3402-554: The traffic, and volunteers manage the parking. Padstow in Cornwall holds its annual 'Obby-'Oss (Hobby Horse) day of festivities. This is believed to be one of the oldest fertility rites in the UK; revellers dance with the Oss through the streets of the town and even though the private gardens of the citizens, accompanied by accordion players and followers dressed in white with red or blue sashes who sing traditional May Day songs. The whole town

3465-476: The usual school holiday pattern. (By contrast, the Easter Holiday can start as late—relative to Easter —as Good Friday , if Easter falls early in the year; or finish as early—relative to Easter—as Easter Monday, if Easter falls late in the year, because of the supreme significance of Good Friday and Easter Day to Christianity .) Other prominent English May Day customs include Jack in the Green , and 'dancing

3528-424: The water under the bridge is only 2 feet (61 cm) deep and jumping from the bridge has resulted in serious injury in the past. There are still people who climb the barriers and leap into the water, causing themselves injury. In Durham , students of the University of Durham gather on Prebend's Bridge to see the sunrise and enjoy festivities, folk music, dancing, madrigal singing and a barbecue breakfast. This

3591-605: The world, with Morris dance teams dancing the sun up in Asia, Australia, Canada, France, New Zealand, and the USA. May Day was abolished and its celebration banned by Puritan parliaments during the Interregnum , but reinstated with the restoration of Charles II in 1660. 1 May 1707, was the day the Act of Union came into effect, joining the kingdoms of England (including Wales) and Scotland to form

3654-471: Was "known as the Maioumas because it is celebrated in the month of May-Artemisios". During this time, enough money was set aside by the government for torches, lights, and other expenses to cover a 30-day festival of "all-night revels." The Maiouma was celebrated with splendorous banquets and offerings. Its reputation for licentiousness caused it to be suppressed during the reign of Emperor Constantine , though

3717-480: Was a workday. In Ireland, May Day has long been celebrated as the festival of Bealtaine . It marks the beginning of summer and historically was when cattle were driven out to the summer pastures. Rituals were performed to protect cattle, people and crops, and to encourage growth. Special bonfires were kindled, whose flames, smoke and ashes were deemed to have protective powers. The people and their cattle would walk around or between bonfires, and sometimes leap over

3780-475: Was common to move in the spring in the 18th century, citing a 1750 bylaw by Intendant François Bigot . Additionally, Jean-Philippe Warren, a sociologist at Concordia University in Montreal, noted in a 2013 interview for The New York Times that French law in the 18th century set May 1 as the starting date for all legal agreements, including leases. Later, this evolved into a requirement that urban leases begin on May 1 and end on April 30. In law, this date

3843-474: Was led by a representative of Winter clad in furs, who threw snowballs and ice in order to prolong the cold weather. The other troop was commanded by a representative of Summer covered with fresh leaves and flowers. In the sham fight which followed the party of Summer came off victorious, and the ceremony ended with a feast Sweden's first May Day celebration was held in Halmstad on 2nd of May, 1897 because 1st of May

SECTION 60

#1732854781906

3906-485: Was set in the Civil Code of Lower Canada of 1866. May 1 thus became "Moving Day", the day during which renters who wished to vacate their current premises physically changed domiciles. In 1973, the Quebec government decided that it would be better to move Moving Day to the summer. This measure would allow children, especially the ones in primary school to complete their full year at the same establishment. Also, by moving

3969-461: Was the case before the 1970s. Bargain hunters —especially people who don't move— also enjoy the numerous garage sales occurring before moving day and the common practice of leaving behind slightly used furniture and appliances on the curb side or in the alley, in effect giving them to anyone in need. The annual ritual has also been translated in Quebec's literature, music and cinema. Gabrielle Roy 's classic novel Bonheur d'occasion describes

#905094