Chris Pearce's Blog, page 8

History of Arbor Day

(originally published to Helium writing site, now gone)

Here in Australia, Arbor Day is celebrated on the last Sunday in July as National Tree Day. National Schools Tree Day is on the last Friday of July. I wrote the following article on the history of Arbor Day for American writing site Helium …

Arbor Day is a holiday or a day set aside for the planting of trees, ‘arbor’ being Latin for ‘tree’. Looking after trees has a history that goes back to ancient times. The Celts worshipped a number of tree species, such as holly trees. Norsemen believed that ash trees were the foundation of the universe. Over the centuries, less importance was placed on trees and by the 19th century, the wholesale and indiscriminate felling of trees for commercial purposes seemed to be of little concern to most people.

One person who was concerned about trees was J. Sterling Morton of the US. In 1854, he married Caroline Joy French and they moved west to south-eastern Nebraska. The Nebraska City area had just been opened up for settlement and the young couple staked out a 160 acre claim. At the time, the plains of Nebraska had few trees, but Morton knew that the soil and climate would support many trees.

Morton had grown up in New York and Michigan, and he and his wife missed the thickly wooded areas of the east. They planted many trees on their property, including an apple orchard of 300 trees by the late 1850s. He soon became a leading figure in Nebraskan society, becoming editor of the Nebraska City News shortly after his arrival, and was Nebraska Territory secretary from 1858 to 1861. A constant stream of new arrivals to the area meant there was a demand for trees to produce wood for houses, fencing, farm sheds, and so on. Morton had built a good knowledge of farming and forestry methods and advised local people through his newspaper of the tree species they should be planting on their properties.

His standing in the community continued to grow. By the 1870s, he was on the Nebraska State Board of Agriculture, and in 1872 suggested that one day a year should be for planting trees across the state, or a statewide Arbor Day. He organized the day as a competition to see who could plant the most trees, offering a prize of $100 to the winning county and $25 and a ‘farm library’ to the individual winner. Over a million trees were planted on this inaugural Arbor Day.

Other states recognized the good work done by Morton and realized the importance of planting trees, with Kansas and Tennessee legislating for an Arbor Day in 1875. In 1885, Arbor Day in Nebraska was set as 22 April, Morton’s birthday. Many other states followed suit and established their own Arbor Day. Nebraska became known as the ‘Tree Planters State’, with 700,000 acres of trees by 1885.

At the federal level, 50,000 people turned out to a tree planting day in 1882 held by the American Forestry Congress. The National Education Association gave its support to Arbor Day in 1884 when it suggested that the day be recognized in all US schools. In 1893, Morton became the US Secretary of Agriculture and was able to further promote the idea of Arbor Day and the planting of trees.

Morton died in 1902 but his legacy lived on. Arbor Day was observed in 45 states by 1920, and is now recognized by all states. A National Arbor Day has been established by a number of presidents, although in practice, dates for the celebration vary across states due to different climate patterns. The most commonly used day is the last Friday in April.

The popularity of Arbor Day in the US quickly spread to other countries. In Australia, Arbor Day started in 1889 in Adelaide, capital of South Australia. In Queensland, the first Arbor Day ceremony was at Brisbane’s Botanic Gardens in 1890, with 2,500 trees being distributed to schools. The country now has a National Tree Day in late July.

In New Zealand, the initial Arbor Day was in 1890. Great support was received in that country by leading botanist Dr Leonard Cockayne who promoted tree planting in schools in the early 20th century. This nation has held its Arbor Day on 5 June, World Environment Day, since 1977.

Taiwan held its first Arbor Day in 1927 as a result of a recommendation to the Agriculture and Forestry ministry by Nanking University in 1914. Mainland China started Arbor Day in 1981, stipulating that everyone should aim to plant 3-5 trees a year. Germany has celebrated Arbor Day since 1952 and the Netherlands from 1957.

Many countries across all continents now celebrate Arbor Day. What started in a newly settled area in remote Nebraska in the 1850s has become a worldwide movement.

Health benefits of blueberries

(originally published to Bubblews writing site, now gone)

Blueberries are native to North America and are also now grown in a number of European countries, Turkey, South America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. They are loaded with antioxidants and other nutrients, including vitamin K, manganese, vitamin C and fiber.  

One study found that consumption of blueberries by older people improved memory and slowed down or stopped the deterioration of mental processes, although participants consumed large quantities of the berries. Another study found that blueberries helped blood sugar regulation in people with type 2 diabetes.  

Research has shown that eating blueberries improves antioxidant defences in the cardiovascular system, improves the nervous system, the digestive tract, and even muscle damage. Other studies have shown benefits of consuming blueberries for inflammation, depression, blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Tests on animals have shown better eye health, reduced risk of cancer, and less brain damage after stroke. 

I eat a small punnet of blueberries on the weekend in breakfasts of yoghurt and other fruit.

 

How seeding is done at Wimbledon

(originally published to Helium writing site, now gone)

Seeding at the Wimbledon Championships is not determined in quite the same way as at other tennis tournaments. Instead of being based solely on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Entry System Position, seeding at Wimbledon for the men’s singles takes into account grass court performance. Thus seeding will not necessarily be in the same order as the 32 highest ranked players.

In tennis tournaments and other sports, the better-performed individual players and teams are seeded so as to protect them from early elimination. If the names of all 128 men (or women) in the singles draw at Wimbledon were placed in a barrel and names drawn at random, two top ranked players might play each other in the first round, knocking one out. Much lower ranked participants would have a reasonable chance of advancing through the rounds and reaching the finals without meeting a really good player.

To try and reduce such inequities, the names of the 32 highest ranked men and 32 women are arranged in the draw in such as way that none of them will play one another until the third round. The top 16 seeds will not meet until the fourth round, the top eight before the quarters, the highest four until the semis, and the top two seeds cannot meet until the final. The other 96 entrants’ names are drawn from the barrel and fill the remaining places, such that no seeded player has another seeded player in their initial group of four who meet in the first two rounds. The system is never completely fair as the 33rd ranked player could meet the top seed in the first round, and the person ranked 32nd could play a qualifier.

Wimbledon takes the ATP rankings as at mid June and then, unlike other tournaments, makes some adjustments. Firstly, it doubles the points that players have earned in grass court tournaments over the previous year. Secondly, it multiplies by 1.75 the points earned on this surface 1-2 years ago. These ‘bonus’ points are added to the normal ATP points from other tournaments to arrive at revised total points and new rankings. This listing determines the order of the 32 seeds.

This means a player ranked 10th in the ATP rankings might move to, say, 7th in the rearranged rankings at Wimbledon with good grass court performances. The player is ‘protected’ from meeting a top eight player until the quarters, whereas he might have had to meet a top eight player in the fourth round if unadjusted ATP rankings were used. In 2009, Marat Safin moved from 23rd seed to 15th seed under this system, meaning he couldn’t meet a top 16 player until the fourth round, instead of the third round. This year (2010), Andy Murray moved up from a ranking of 5 to a Wimbledon seeding of 3, which means he can’t play another top 4 player until the semis.

The arguments behind the different system of seeding players at Wimbledon is because the tournament is played on grass and if a player has excelled on grass at other events, then he should be entitled to a higher seeding than his position in the ATP rankings. Most tournaments are now played on hard courts or clay. Apart from Wimbledon, the remaining grass court competitions on the ATP circuit include the AEGON Championship at Queen’s, London and the AEGON International at Eastbourne, UK, both lead-up events to Wimbledon. The others are the Gerry Weber Open in Germany, the Topshelf Open in the Netherlands, and the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships at Rhode Island, US.

Opportunities for any one player to compete in grass court tournaments are even fewer, because the Gerry Weber and Topshelf events are held at the same time as the respective AEGON competitions. The Hall of Fame tournament is held in the week following Wimbledon when many of the top players take a break. The two AEGON tournaments in June are favored by most players so they can acclimatize to English conditions and try to gain some extra points before the Wimbledon seedings are announced. The system provides a real boost for these tournaments and perhaps this is a major reason for the continuation of this seeding method. Indeed, Wimbledon contributes to the other tournaments on the grass court circuit.

It is hard to think of other reasons Wimbledon continues with its different seeding process. The serve and volley style of play is no longer an advantage on grass, due to advances in racket technology allowing everyone to hit the ball hard these days. A player that comes into the net will be passed much of the time. Nearly everyone now plays from the baseline on all surfaces.

Curiously, the women’s seeding is not adjusted for grass court performances. Here the seeds are based on the Women’s Tennis Association rankings, although changes may be made depending on the view of Wimbledon’s Committee of Management. For example, in 2009, an adjustment was made for 2004 winner Maria Sharapova who had been out injured for nine months and she became the 24th seed.

Wimbledon’s way of determining the seeding is controversial and is inconsistent between the men’s and women’s events. Given the conservative nature of the committee and the tournament, and the support it provides to other grass court competitions, the method is unlikely to change anytime soon.

Australia: the truth about negative gearing

I posted the following about negative gearing to Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull’s Facebook page yesterday. I went there today but the post had been deleted. I guess I can understand why. I posted it again. The government supports the policy and thinks it helps the economy. It doesn’t. Nor does it help the budget …

To say that property values will go down and rents up if negative gearing is removed is nonsense. You can’t have lower house prices and higher rents together for any length of time at all, even if these things happen initially, which they probably won’t to any extent. Investors would quickly hop into such a market, knowing they could buy a house for less money and get more in rent (most investors don’t negative gear). It would also mean that buying a home would be more attractive to renters. Greater demand by both investors and potential owner occupiers would see the market quickly adjusting, with housing prices and rents both stabilising.



Overly generous tax concessions on property investment in this country has greatly increased demand for housing, pushing prices up rapidly, which is what we have seen for best part of two decades. We now have among the highest housing prices in the world. Speculative investors are buying and selling existing houses and units for ever higher prices. It is little better than a Ponzi scheme. The amount borrowed for residential investment properties is 80 times higher than 30 years ago and prices have gone up about eightfold.

And rents have increased 25% over and above the CPI increases over the last 30 years, which means that a house that would have cost $300 a week in rent had rents kept pace with the CPI instead costs $375. That’s nearly $4000 more a year and is a large amount for struggling families to find, while ‘investors’ keep on riding this gravy train.

Many people have been priced out of the owner occupier market and are forced to pay high rents perhaps forever more. They never get to the stage where they have paid off a mortgage and have a large increase in their disposable income for things like renovations, household goods, a new car, a holiday, etc. The current policies on residential property investment are bad for the budget and bad for the economy. Have no doubts.

Modern observances of Shavuot

This year, 2016, the Jewish festival of Shavuot is celebrated on 11-13 June. I wrote and published the following article several years ago to Helium writing site, now gone.

Shavuot is the second of three major festivals in the Jewish calendar, following Passover and before Sukkot. It falls in Sivan, the first month of summer, and commemorates the initial fruit of the year and the anniversary of Moses and the children of Israel being given the Torah by God at Mount Sinai. Shavuot is now a Jewish holiday. There are a number of modern day observances relating to Shavuot.

One of the customs is to stay up all night on the eve of Shavuot and study the Torah. The reason for this is that the Israelites nearly didn’t wake up in time on the morning they were to be given the Torah, so Jews accept they should now study the books through the night to make up for this failing. This tradition has its origins in 1533 when an angel told a rabbi and his associates who were studying the Torah overnight to go to Israel and make their home there. Studies are not restricted to the Torah but can include the Talmud, the Mishnah, and other works. Some people attend lectures or participate in study groups on the Torah. A custom in Jerusalem on Shavuot is to walk to the Wailing Wall in the early hours and participate in dawn prayers.

As part of studying the Torah before Shavuot, an evening service is held in many communities. This is called ‘Tikkun Leil Shavuot’ or ‘Rectification for Shavuot Night’ and includes readings from the Torah and various other works. The Ten Commandments feature in this service as they do in morning services held on Shavuot itself. The daytime service is attended by everyone, young and old, as they symbolically visit Mount Sinai and receive the Torah, and reaffirm their commitment to it. Grade 10 children often go through the confirmation ceremony at these services.

The first reading at morning service on Shavuot is the ‘Akdamut’, a 90 line liturgical poem. It comprises 45 two line verses. The usual custom is for the ‘baal koreh’, an official, to recite the first two verses and the assembly replies with the following pair, and so on for the entire poem. The verses are acrostic, meaning that the initial letters of each word of a line or verse spell out a word or phrase that is symbolic of some person, thing, or message. At the end of each line are the letters ‘ta’, being the last and first letters respectively of Hebrew, symbolizing a continuing learning process where a person who gets to the end of the Torah then starts again.

Another important reading at the morning service is the Book of Ruth. The reasons this book is read on Shavuot are several. First, Ruth’s great great grandson King David has the anniversary of both his birth and his death on Shavuot. Second, Ruth was a convert to Judaism and this symbolizes the Torah’s acceptance by Jews. Third, the book includes descriptions of harvests, and Shavuot is known as a harvest festival.

In contrast to other Jewish holidays, it is customary to eat only dairy foods or at least one meal of this food type on Shavuot. Popular dishes include cheesecakes, as well as blintzes, a kind of pancake that can be spread with butter or cream, or eaten with cheese. A reason for this custom is that before the Israelites were given the Torah, their meat was not prepared under kosher laws, so on Shavuot they eat dairy, which has fewer restrictions under these rules compared with meat. Another reason is the biblical view of Israel being a land of milk and honey.

A further Shavuot observance is to decorate homes and synagogues with leaves, flowers, and fruit. Children in Israel often wear a band of flowers and leaves on their head. The main reason for this custom is that when the Torah was given at Mount Sinai, the desert landscape quickly turned into an oasis of greenery and flowers. With this tradition, Jews are also commemorating the ‘bikurim’, or the sacrificing of fruits, where grapes, pomegranates, figs, dates, and olives were taken to the temple as sacrifice.

Various general observances are made on Shavuot and other Jewish holidays. These rules are known as the laws of ‘Yom Tov’ and can be found in the Torah. No work is undertaken on Shavuot, while writing, money, and electrical appliances should not be part of this day. Women are often given new clothing and children receive a toy or candy. Sharing food and drink with outsiders and paupers is also an important part of this day.

Health benefits of goji berries

(originally published to Bubblews writing site, now gone)

Goji berries or wolfberries are grown mainly in south-east Europe and Asia across to China and have been claimed to have special health benefits.

They contain a lot of nutrients, such as 11 essential and 22 trace dietary minerals, as well as 18 amino acids and six essential vitamins. Also, they are rich in calcium, iron, potassium, riboflavin, selenium, vitamin C and zinc.

Goji berries have been used in traditional medicine for centuries and have even been called a superfruit. This had led to marketing strategies that claim various health benefits, although these haven’t been proven scientifically.

A study on aged mice in 2007 found their antioxidant, immune and other levels were restored to satisfactory levels with polysaccharides from goji berries, but that the effects would have been similar using vitamin C.

Studies in 2001 and 2008 on older women found an increase in bleeding after drinking wolfberry tea, wolfberries being another name for goji berries.

Also, vitamin C levels in goji berries are often claimed to be very high, but are actually similar to a lot of citrus and other fruits as well as strawberries and other berries.

While goji berries do have health benefits, these are sometimes exaggerated. I eat a teaspoon or two of dried goji berries several times a week as part of a meal with other dried fruit, nuts, fresh fruit, cheese and bread. My wife hates them!

How Israelis celebrate Independence Day

(originally published to Helium writing site, now gone)

Israel achieved independence on 14 May 1948 when a new country, the State of Israel, was formed from land held by the British since World War I. Independence Day, or ‘Yom Ha’atzmaut’, is celebrated each year on this date, and is a national holiday and festival day in Israel. A number of celebrations and observances form part of this special day and some of these can vary between communities. This year, 2016, festivities will be on 12 May, or 5 lyar in the Hebrew calendar.

Independence Day in Israel starts on the previous evening with the lighting of a dozen torches on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, representing the 12 Tribes of Israel. The torches are lit by 12 residents who have contributed to society. This ceremony is also the close of ‘Yom Hazikaron’, or Memorial Day, when Israel remembers its fallen soldiers in various battles both before and after the formation of the new state. The evening gathering at Mount Herzl is addressed by the Knesset speaker, followed by performances and marches, in the lead-up to the torch lighting.

After attending this ceremony, many of these people join others in dancing and singing in the streets. Residents have already attached Israeli flags to their houses and cars in readiness for the big day. Celebratory scenes continue and become more numerous the next day, with many groups of people seen rejoicing in the streets and parklands. Young people often try and cover each other with shaving cream or silly string from aerosol cans. There are many shows and activities. The ‘Yom Ha’atzmaut’ parade is now much smaller than in its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s as a military procession, but it still attracts large numbers of school children who march and perform, and includes a presentation of Israel’s history.

One of the favorite ways families celebrate Independence Day in Israel is with a ‘mangal’, or barbecue, in one of the nation’s many parks. These picnics are popular in a number of Middle Eastern countries. A ‘mangal’ consists of meat cooked on an open tray, along with grilled vegetables and salad. The term also means a family get-together, an important part of ‘Yom Ha’atzmaut’. Many people also attend army camp displays of military history and latest technology on this day.

From a religious point of view, there are many opinions as to what rituals should be part of ‘Yom Ha’atzmaut’. According to a number of religious figures, including the Chief Rabbinate, the full Hallel, or Psalms 113-118, is to be read out as part of prayers on this day. These psalms form a Jewish prayer of adoration and blessing. Most Religious Zionist groups, and some Hasidic, Haredi, and other groups recite the Hallel on Independence Day and certain other holidays. Some Jewish clerics state that the ‘Pesukei D’Zimrah’ or ‘verses of song’, a collection of Bible passages meant to increase the spiritual feeling of a person, should be read on this day too. Blowing a horn called a ‘shofar’ is also favored by some spiritual leaders.

Certain Religious Zionists recite a selection of psalms and the ‘haftarah’, or ‘parting’, on Independence Day. The ‘haftarah’ is often read after the Torah at service on this day. Others in this group, as well as Masorti communities, add ‘Al Hanisim’, a prayer defining God’s role in ‘Yom Ha’atzmaut’ and other festivals, into the Thanksgiving prayer.

Not all Jews celebrate ‘Yom Ha’atzmaut’ in a cheerful way. Some anti-Zionists fly black flags and fast on this day because they do not believe Israel should have been established before the return of Jesus. Many Arab citizens refer to Independence Day as ‘al-Nakba’, or ‘the catastrophe’, although some do celebrate it, as do the Druze, Bedouins, and Circassians.

An International Bible Contest is always keenly contested by secondary school students from around the world on Independence Day. National contests are held in the US, Canada, Australia, and many other countries, with several winners from each nation going to Israel to compete against winners from that country. In 2009, the 47 finalists came from 24 countries. Israeli students tend to dominate the event. The overall prize is a four year university scholarship.

At the end of ‘Yom Ha’atzmaut’, the Israel Prize is awarded for outstanding achievement in humanities, science, and the arts, and contribution to the country. A number of awards are won each year. Since the inaugural Israel Prize was set up in 1953 by then education minister Ben-Zion Dinor, 633 prizes had been handed out by 2009. Winners are presented with their prizes at a state function attended by the Israeli president, prime minister, and various dignitaries.

Traditional May Day celebrations in Europe

(originally published to Helium writing site, now gone)

May 1 is known as May Day. It has its origins in ancient pagan festivals and in crop and pastoral cycles in many societies across Europe. May 1 is the start of the warmer six months of the year in the northern hemisphere after often bitterly cold winters and this was cause for celebration with bonfires and dancing. The Druids celebrated May 1 as the day of their Bealtaine, or Beltane, festival or feast. At the same time, Germany and surrounding areas celebrated Walpurgis Night, a similar ceremony.

The religious aspect of May Day continued after the Romans arrived in Britain. They worshipped their goddess of flowers, Flora, on this day. This ceremony had been conducted in romanized Europe for some time. In Britain, the old customs of Bealtaine became part of the Floralia festival. During the Puritan era in the 16th and 17th centuries, May Day became more of a secular celebration. Some religious connections remained though, such as the Catholic custom of paying homage to the Virgin Mary on this day. Many current May Day traditions have their roots in paganism, such as the maypole and the May Queen.

In the United Kingdom, as in many countries, May Day or the first Monday in May is a public holiday. Originally a feast that celebrated the new crops and springtime fertility, May Day has emphasized fetes, carnivals and general merriment for hundreds of years. At many of these gatherings, dancing around the maypole is a popular tradition.

This tall wooden pole is driven into the ground and adorned with ribbons, flowers and other decorations which vary between regions. Dancers hang on to the ribbons and weave around each other as they circle the pole, men or boys in one direction and women or girls in the other. Eventually, the pole is entwined with ribbon and participants finish up at its base. Maypole dancing has its origins in Germanic paganism and is a traditional May Day or Midsummer activity in other parts of Europe.

Morris dancing is another favourite traditional activity on May Day. This is a choreographed dance by groups of dancers with sticks or pieces of cloth, sometimes performed around a maypole or as part of a parade. Morris dancing can be traced to the 15th century and has no ties to paganism. A May Queen is often picked to head a May Day parade. The queen, usually a student from a local secondary school, is dressed in white and reads a speech to start the dancing and other festivities.

Other May Day traditions in England include university students in pagan rituals, playing madrigal music, and dancing at sunrise in celebrations at Durham and Oxford. A Jack in the Green carnival has been revived in towns such as Whitstable, Rochester, Hastings, Bristol and Oxford, where the traditional figure dressed as a tree leads a parade of morris dancers and others. Hordes of motorbike riders set off from London each year in the Maydayrun and travel the 55 miles to Hastings to join its Jack in the Green festivities.

Another May Day festival enjoying a revival is ‘Obby-Oss’, or Hobby Horse, in Padstow, Cornwall. There is maypole dancing and plenty of singing and dancing in the streets. Other Cornish towns hold a Flower Boat Ritual, where a model boat is taken past decorated houses to the beach and set afloat. Maypole dancing and morris dancing are popular there too.

May Day celebrations in Ireland can be tracked back to the pagan Bealtaine festival of feasts and bonfires. More recently, it is known as Mary’s Day. Fire lighting is still carried out in Limerick but not elsewhere, although signs of a revival of this ritual are evident in other parts and by expatriates. Suspending ‘May boughs’ on houses is also less common these days, but is practised by diaspora in parts of North America. A Beltane Fire Festival was resurrected in Scotland at the University of Edinburgh in 1988 and is now attended by a sell-out crowd of 11,500. Other May Day events are held in Scottish towns and cities.

Germany has a May Day slogan of ‘Tanz in den Mai’ or ‘Dance into May’. On the eve of May Day, there are traditional pagan ceremonies such as bonfires and maypole decorating. In western areas, males send their girlfriends a tree or maypole adorned with streamers. May Day itself is popular for picnics and other outings.

In France, men give women a lily sprig, a ritual that started when Charles IX did this on 1 May 1561. A woman traditionally kisses the man who gave her the branch. Vendors set up stalls and sell these sprays and don’t have to pay tax on the profits.

Finland starts May Day festivities with its Walpurgis Night on the eve of the holiday. The event is one of the country’s three largest celebrations, the others being New Year’s Eve and the midsummer Juhannas, and there are bonfires and plenty of eating, drinking and partying, with festivities carrying over to the next day. Similar nights are held in Sweden, Germany, Estonia and Czech Republic. Large picnics are organized in Finnish parks on May Day and political and religious groups use the day for marches and speeches.

May Day has become a traditional occasion for labour groups to commemorate victories such as the eight hour day and women’s right to work in Europe and elsewhere. In Germany, May Day equates with Day of Labour and there are various marches and demonstrations. These events have been marred by violence over the years, although the holding of street fairs in recent times has helped prevent serious disturbances. The United Kingdom has also suffered its share of unrest on this day.

Spain and Portugal have celebrated May Day as a labour day since the end of their dictatorship eras several decades ago. In Italy, traditional May Day celebrations include ‘Concerto del Primo Maggio’, or ‘1 May’s Concert’, attracting a crowd of over 300,000. In Hungary, people dance round ‘May trees’. The UK, Greece, Scandinavian countries and Russia all hold annual parades, meetings and demonstrations to celebrate labour achievements on May Day.

History of May Day

(originally published to Helium writing site, now gone)

May Day has its origins in ancient pagan festivals and crop and pastoral cycles in many societies across Europe. May 1 is the start of the warmer six months of the year in the northern hemisphere after often bitterly cold winters and this was cause for celebration of new life. The Druids, who thrived in Britain prior to the Roman invasion in the first century, celebrated May 1 as the day of their Bealtaine, or Beltane, festival or feast. At the same time, Germany and surrounding areas celebrated Walpurgis Night, a similar ceremony.

The Druids regarded this day as their New Year’s Day where they lit large fires, a ritual practised in many parts of the world. The fires were thought to help the sun become stronger in the coming weeks and months leading up to mid summer, thereby assisting crops and animals to thrive. The Druids drove their cattle through the edges of the fires as this was thought to purify the beasts, while young couples would run through the smoke to bring them good fortune. In Europe, the bonfires were thought to drive off the dead and the evil spirits.

The religious aspect of May Day continued after the Romans arrived in Britain. The main ritual of the Romans on May Day was the worship of their goddess of flowers, Flora. This ceremony had been conducted in romanized Europe for some time. Flora was associated with spring and growth as well as fertility and new life. The festival of Floralia was held at this time, celebrating the start of new life, or the rebirth, and was accompanied by much eating, drinking and dancing, as well as flowers. The old customs of Bealtaine became part of the Floralia festival.

These May Day celebrations continued until the Puritans were in power in the 16th and 17th centuries, where the religious aspects especially were checked. After the Puritans were defeated, May Day became more of a secular festival of having fun, in the form of fetes and carnivals. Some religious connections remained though, such as the Catholic custom of paying homage to the Virgin Mary on this day.

Many current May Day traditions have their roots in paganism, such as the maypole and the May Queen. The maypole became a feature in English towns and villages during the Middle Ages. Residents would find a tall, thin trunk is the woods, bring it to town and drive it into the ground. A town or village always wanted to have a taller maypole than a neighbouring center. Maypoles were adorned with ribbons, flowers and other decorations which varied between regions.

People danced around the maypole, and still do to this day. Dancers hung on to the ribbons and weaved around each other as they circled the pole, men or boys in one direction and women or girls in the other. Eventually, the pole was entwined with ribbon and participants finished up at its base. Maypole dancing became popular in many European countries too. Indeed, it has its origins in Germanic paganism.

Morris dancing also became a favourite activity on May Day. This is a choreographed dance by groups of dancers with sticks or pieces of cloth, sometimes performed around a maypole or as part of a parade. Morris dancing can be traced to the 15th century and has no ties to paganism. A May Queen is often picked to head a May Day parade, which was originally led by Diana, the Goddess of the Hunt. The queen, usually a student from a local secondary school, is dressed in white and reads a speech to start the dancing and other festivities.

In many countries, achievements of organized labor are often celebrated on this day and May Day has become synonymous with Labor Day by whatever name. This link stems from a connection between traditional May Day activities and working people. Craft gilds and other groups organized May Day ceremonies and feasts back when the Puritans were in power, much to the rulers’ annoyance. In the 17th century, the mythical Robin Goodfellow became the mock king or priest on May Day and received much flak from working class participants.

May Day has become a celebration by workers of their struggles in the 19th and 20th centuries to gain an eight hour day and other conditions of employment, the right of women to work, and other issues. In the United States, workers fought for an eight hour day after the Civil War, culminating in a widespread strike on 1 May 1886, with six people killed in Chicago. Australia and a number of European countries held large meetings on May Day around 1886 to 1890, supporting a workers’ holiday on this day. In France, May 1 was made an international labor holiday by the International Working Men’s Association in 1889. Since then, many nations have celebrated their labor day on May Day.

Anzac Day

(originally published to Bubblews writing site, now gone)

Today, April 25, is Anzac Day and a holiday in Australia and New Zealand as well as a few Pacific Island nations. The day commemorates all those from these countries who fought in the various wars, including the two world wars, Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan. It is regarded as one of the most important holidays in this part of the world. 

Anzac stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. It originally formed in Egypt in 1915 from the First Australian Imperial Force and the 1st New Zealand Expeditionary Force. They fought the Ottomans on the Gallipoli peninsula, then part of the Ottoman Empire and now part of Turkey. The Anzacs first landed on the beaches of the peninsula on 25 April 1915. The campaign lasted till 9 January 1916 and was part of World War I. More than 100,000 men lost their lives. 

On 25 April 1916, a year after the start of the campaign, the day was called Anzac Day and there were various services and ceremonies. New Zealand declared it a half-day holiday and a full public holiday from 1920. Anzac Day was observed in Australia too but it was not a public holiday in all states until 1927. From the 1930s, the day featured dawn services, marches, reunions, two-up games, and just remembering those who fought in wars.  

Commemorations were smaller during World War II as the Australian government prevented large gatherings due to fear of Japanese air attacks, but picked up again after the end of the war. Soon after, crowds again became smaller because authorities banned sport and other commercial entertainment on this day. Further trouble ensued in the 1960s when many people used the day to protest against the Vietnam War. In the 1970s and 1980s, groups such as feminists and gays used the day to promote their causes. 

Interest in Anzac Day revived around the late 1980s and has become more and more popular since then, including among young people who remember their grandparents and great grandparents who fought in various wars. Many Australians and New Zealanders now make the pilgrimage to Gallipoli for a large service to commemorate what happened there in World War I.  

Anzac Day is now a huge day for Australia and New Zealand with more services and other events held on this day than any other day in the year. The first 18 minutes of our one hour evening news here in Brisbane today was on Anzac Day activities, a far cry from 1975 when our main national daily newspaper, The Australian, carried just the one Anzac story the day after Anzac Day.