We also celebrate the first of May but instead of making hoops with flowers from our garden, we pick sprays of lilly of the valley. Kids go and sell bunches of lilly of the valley and they are also sold at the market.
Besides being May Day, the first of May is also Labour Day and nobody works on that day.
I think I will try to make a hoop and follow your instructions for next May Day. The hoop on the photo is really beautiful. Did you make it?
Lovely tradition to go and collect garden flowers and wild flowers to make wreaths for the first of May.
As Isabelle said we offer lily of the valley in France. For the fist time this year, I had some in my garden
![Protomagia is the first day of May, which is a day off for many countries of the world. The first of May is celebrated in Cyprus with trips to nature, creating special hoops made of flowers you can find in the fields or in your garden. This day is a day of happiness, relaxation and entertainment for both small children and adults. The 1st May’s hoop is usually placed on the main door of the house, where it stays for all month. The meaning of this day for ancient civilizations is due to the fact that 1st of May (northern hemisphere) is between the ((Εαρινή Ισημερία και το Θερινό Ηλιοστάσιο)) Vernal [Isimeria] and Aestival [Iliostasio], it is placed that is to say in the beginning of spring. That’s why it is also celebrated as the day of flowers and spring. Many of the ancient customs have survived until today. However, 1st of May is not only a celebration day, but also a day to remember the labor fights. Thus first of May is a day landmark for the fights of workers and is synonym with the World Labour Day or World Day of Workers. This day the fights of working movement are being honored and remembered, consequently the day is dedicated to all kinds of workers. It is actually the established feast of revolt of workers of Chicago. In May 1886 the working trade unions in Chicago rose claiming an 8 hours’ schedule of work and better conditions of work. At the duration of a concentration for the establishment (8 hours of work), the police shot and killed 12 demonstrators. They demanded the reduction of hours of work to 8 and they were shouting: “ Eight hours work, eight hours rest, eight hours sleep. After a lot of other gatherings and events of working trade unions in the all world, the 1st of May has been established as day of strike. The day has been established as holiday and all the services and the enterprises remains closed. In Greece the facts of 1936 in Thessalonica gave the inspiration to Yannis Ritsos to write the Epitafios [Epitaph]. The hoop of 1st day of May We will need: 2-3 branches easy to be bended about a meter length 1 piece of rope Thread Flowers First of all, we have to create the hoop made of branches. We should use vines (klimatoverges) or wicker branches because they bend easily without breaking. We take the first branch and we put together its two endings and we bind them together using rope. After that, we take the rest branches and we put them on the hoop we made before. The main skeleton of the hoop is made. We choose flowers with long stalk. We fix on the flowers by passing the stalk [kotsani] through the branches of the skeleton. When it is needed, we use little thread in order to tie the flowers on the skeleton. The more flowers we put in our hoop, the more beautiful it will be. I can assure you, this hoop will be unique, after we have made it with our own hands and traditional because it’s made with wild flowers and no with flowers of trade. Have a nice 1st of May!!!](http://web.me.com/dasoupolis/Site/traditions_and_festivals_files/shapeimage_8.png)
We also celebrate the first of May but instead of making hoops with flowers from our garden, we pick sprays of lilly of the valley. Kids go and sell bunches of lilly of the valley and they are also sold at the market.
Besides being May Day, the first of May is also Labour Day and nobody works on that day.
I think I will try to make a hoop and follow your instructions for next May Day. The hoop on the photo is really beautiful. Did you make it?
Lovely tradition to go and collect garden flowers and wild flowers to make wreaths for the first of May.
As Isabelle said we offer lily of the valley in France. For the fist time this year, I had some in my garden
They are very nice, these flower wreaths!!!