Date: May 1st
Category: Resistance & Resilience | Travel Through Time
If you feel an urge to wear a flower crown, wield a banner, or shout in unison with a crowd on May 1st, you’re in good company — and excellent historical company, at that. From medieval merriment to union marches, May Day has long been the people’s holiday — whether that means dancing round the Maypole or demanding the downfall of capitalism.
Here at The Time Traveller’s Guild, we’ve polished up our hobnailed boots, unfurled the banner, and popped the kettle on (a protest starts better with tea, after all). Join us as we time-hop through the roots, riots, and revelry of May Day — a tradition steeped in resistance, rebirth, and radical joy.
🌼 From Maypoles to Marx: Where It All Began
Before it was political, May Day was pagan. For centuries — possibly millennia — communities across Europe gathered on the first of May to celebrate fertility, springtime, and the changing of seasons. Bonfires blazed, garlands were woven, and in some villages, the local lord was cheekily replaced with a mock “May King” or “Queen of the May” for the day.
But things turned more political in 1889, when socialist groups around the world adopted May 1st as International Workers’ Day, commemorating the Haymarket Affair of 1886 — a peaceful Chicago rally for the eight-hour workday that ended in tragedy. Since then, May Day has been synonymous with union rights, workers’ protests, and calls for systemic change.
✊ Marches That Changed the World
Across the 20th century, May Day became the date for protest:
- Berlin, 1929: Thousands of workers clashed with police in a banned demonstration known as Blutmai (“Bloody May”).
- London, 1978: The Anti-Nazi League led 100,000 people through Trafalgar Square.
- Paris, 1968: May Day ignited a month-long student-worker uprising that nearly toppled the French government.
- Seoul, Cairo, Jakarta: In the 21st century, it’s a date that unites activists on everything from minimum wage to climate justice.
🏞️ Can You Travel to a May Day of the Past?
Yes! While time machines remain slightly beyond our merch budget, you can step into history:
- Padstow, Cornwall still hosts the pagan Obby Oss May Day festival, where locals parade strange horse effigies through the streets.
- Durham celebrates its mining past with banners and brass bands — echoing labour movement marches of old.
- Tolpuddle, Dorset is home to the Tolpuddle Martyrs Museum — worth a May pilgrimage.
(And if you can’t travel far, our Resistance Trail map has downloadable PDFs of UK May Day events past and present.)
💬 Words of the Workers
“The great appear great to us, only because we are on our knees. Let us rise.” — James Larkin, Irish labour leader
Want more quotes for your protest placards or Instagram captions? Our downloadable zine, Words to March By, is coming soon.
🧢 Protest in Style
Love the history? Wear it.
Our Guild-exclusive “Make May Revolutionary Again” tees and tote bags are back in stock — responsibly printed and union-supportive.
➡️ Shop the Collection
➡️ Follow us on Instagram @TimeTravellersGuild to see how others are styling theirs!
🔍 Want to Know More?
- The Haymarket Affair – The Zinn Education Project
- BBC Archive: May Day Protests in the UK – BBC Archive
- Obby Oss Festival – Visit Cornwall
📣 Over to You, Time Travellers
Did your ancestors march on May Day? Got a favourite memory, image, or quote? Tag us on Instagram or Threads using #TimeTravellingRebels — we’ll feature our favourites in the end-of-month round-up!
