The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-05-02
MAY DAY FESTIVAL

l ras; ferocity and howers-thus, by alliteration's artfuI aid, one may char acterize one of the oldest of the worlds festivals, May Day.
 It was day chosen by innocent youth for care-free fro1ics in the open when the queen of the May was I crowned with a tiara of posies, and her loyaI-if somewhat envious-sub- jects dance about May-poles and sang and played games and renewed their acquaintance with Rhus TOxicOdendron and Rhus Dtversiloba, commonly known as poison ivy and poison oak.
 And it was also the great annual festival of the anarchists and red rev folutionists of the world, when bearded and 1ong-haired men and short-haired women met in secret cOnclaves to plot against the existing order, or hold open meetings at which heads were of ten broken and blood is she'd
 On this side of the Atlantic the old English observance of May Day as the children's holiday was for time per mitted to lapse into decadence, but it is now being revived all over America, and many are the May parties that will be held during the month of May.
 For many families May Day has still another significance tragic one for the head of the house-for the first of May has long been a popular moving day.
 The double significance of May Day, as a festival of innocent joy and sim ister rites, may be traced back to the beginning of written history. ''The abomination of the Ammonites,' re- fefred to in Scripture, meant the May festival of the Ammonites, at which the people paid homage to their god kMoloch. The Syro-Phenicians had a similar May Day observance in honor of their principal male divinity, Baal. Bonfires were built to propitiate the sun gods, and into these infants and young children were hurled. After the performance of this human sacri- fee the frantic worshippers, men, wo- men and children, danced naked about phallus. Such was the terrible and obscene origin of the innocent dance about the May-poIes. Indescribab1e orgies followed the dance, when the populace gave way to the widest aban- fdon.
 The next notable observance of May Day in the pages of history is under the guise of the ancient Roman Flo ralia, which was instituted in the year 241 B. c. on account of bad har- I vest The festival was dedicated to 1 Flora, the goddess of fertility. On the day of the celebration the people filled the amphitheatre-- The program was initiated by the appearance of a pro cession of beautiful girls, clad in gar ments which completely concealed their figures Then a trumpet sound ed, and the women threw aside their c1oaks and, wearing gay smiles and nothing more, began a wild dance. This | was but, a mild and tame beginning of J a day which developed a state of uni versa1 license which shocked even many of the Romans. It may be a.d- ded that Roman of that period was not easily shocked.
 r The Phenicians. who were great | travellers, spread their May Day ob- servances throughout a large part of Europe, and in the forests of Germany \ and France and in England, Scotland and Ireland our semi-savage ancestors observed the day with fearful rites. One pleasant ceremony connected with the feast had to do with the drawing g of lots by all the young men taking part in the celebration. A piece of
 cake b1ackened with. charcoal was placed among number of others, and the one who drew the black piece had to throw himself into the flames and be burned to death. The Druids ob- served the day by lighting immense bonf1res in honor of their god Bel. This custom is still adhered to in parts of Ireland, the Scottish highlands and in Cornwall. Some Englishmen N still refer to May Day as Be1tine, thus Iperpetuating the name of the Druidi- cal god.
 II In medieval times an important feat ure or May Lay was the bringing Hi the May Young men visited the woods and secured branches, which they planted in front of the homes of their Iady-1oves. At a later period this pilgrimage to the forests became general among all young people, and it's romantic significance was forgot I ten.
 The many quaint and interesting customs connected with the old Eng fish observance of May Day, include Morrice dancing and the crowning of in late years, not only in England but in many cities and colleges in the Unit ed States and Canada! &
 May Day as a labor holiday or as a day for workingnen's demonstrations lis of recent origin; although a spora-
 die instance of this kind occurred nearly four centuries ago. What is called in English history the Evil l May Day. of 1517 was marked by a riot of the 1aborers and apprentices of London, and was directed against I foreigners. After a turbulent upris1 ing the rioters were dispersed. Lin coin, their chief, and fifteen others were hanged, and four hundred others were bound with ropes and with hal ters about their necks were carried to Westminster. Their piteous pleas for mercy touched the heart of King Henry VIII, who pardoned them
 | Although the union workingmen of America. now celebrate Labor Day in September, they were really responsf- b1e for the choice of the first of May as an international labor holiday. At lthe convention of the American FTede- ration of Labor held in St. Louis in 1888, President Samuel Gompers ad- vocated the setting apart of certain