Observed on the first of May every year “May Day’ is commemorated as a Bank Holiday in Saint Lucia meaning banks are closed and it’s an official public holiday Like many countries in the world May Day is observed as a day for employees so trade unions and other workers’ organizations profit the opportunity to bring their members together in rallies, conferences, workshops as well as fun activities where workers get together to spend time together off the clock.
May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Traditions often include setting up a Maypole, May Tree or May Bush, around which people dance because of Saint Lucia:d heavy colonization – ” seven times British, seven times French” many of those European traditions filtered down to the island, with locals often observing many of the traditions originating from the ‘Motherland’ with the Maypole being quite popular throughout the island.
Since the country’s independence in 1979 which effectively cut the umbilical cord with England, these traditions have fallen by the wayside and no longer feature in the island’s May Day observances However, Saint Lucia continues to commemorate May Day on May 1 as International Workers’ Day to commemorate the struggle for an eight-hour working day.
By Sharon Williams
