Happy May Day - les droits des ouvriers

In the States, May Day means classrooms full of elementary school students simultaneously weaving paper baskets, constructing tissue-paper flowers to put inside, and (after school) placing the baskets on a doorstep, ringing the doorbell, and running away while leaving behind the home-made surprise.

This tradition of flower-giving began in France as a way of marking the arrival of spring with the gift of un muguet, or a lily of the valley, on le 1er (premier) mai.

Des muguets

The lily of the valley has long been viewed as a symbol of luck in France. As early as the 16th century, then-King Charles IX received the fleur as a porte-bonheur (good-luck charm).

The tradition of giving the flower on the 1st of May began at the beginning of the 20th century and continues today. Many French citizens, young and old alike, give a lily of the valley as un cadeau (a gift) to celebrate the holiday. The French government now even allows the sale of le muguet tax-free on 1er mai.

Vocabulaire	Vocabulary
une tradition Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.	a tradition
un muguet Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.	a lily of the valley
le 1er (premier) mai Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.	May 1st
une fleur Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.	a flower
une porte-bonheur Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.	a good-luck charm
un cadeau Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.	a gift

La fête du Travail et de la Concorde Sociale

In France, as in many other countries, May Day has come to be synonymous with la journée internationale des travailleurs, la fête des travailleurs, la fête du Travail, and the official name in the title above. However it’s referred to, and in its various forms and translations, May Day is an observed labor day in France. In the U.S., we celebrate our Labor Day in September, but May 1st has long marked a day of protests, marches and strikes for les droits des ouvriers (workers’ rights) across the world.

As mentioned in an earlier post, the French are a people proud of their willingness to protest and affect change. The decisions to create an 8-hour workday, to make May 1st (initially) une journée chômée (a public holiday), and then (later) to make it un jour férié chômé et payé (a paid public holiday) were all thanks to the civic action of the French people.

In typical French fashion, May Day remains a holiday that celebrates both the beauty of Spring and the heartiness of the people.

Vocabulaire	Vocabulary
la fête du Travail et de la Concorde Sociale Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.	Labor and Social Harmony Day
la journée internationale des travailleurs Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.	International Workers’ Day
la fête des travailleurs Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.	Workers’ Holiday
la fête du Travail Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.	Labor Day
les droits des ouvriers Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.	workers’ (manual laborers’) rights
une journée chômée Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.	a public holiday (day off work)
un jour férié Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.	a public holiday
un jour férié chômé et payé Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.	a paid public holiday (no work)