Next: 1 May 2027
May Day and Labour Day
International Workers' Day: marches, red flags and lily of the valley, and in some places maypoles.
When is May Day and Labour Day in 2027?
May Day and Labour Day 2027 is on Saturday, 1 May 2027. Other years: 2026, Friday, 1 May 2026; 2028, Monday, 1 May 2028.
About May Day and Labour Day
May Day, on 1 May, is International Workers' Day, which commemorates the struggle for an eight-hour working day and the Haymarket affair in Chicago in 1886. Trade unions hold marches and rallies in cities from Paris to Mexico City, Istanbul and Dhaka, with banners, speeches and music. In France, people give a sprig of lily of the valley, muguet, to loved ones for luck, and it is the only day of the year on which it may be sold without tax on the street. In Germany, there are the Tanz in den Mai, dancing into May on the eve, and the raising of Maibaum maypoles. In Sweden, May Day is a day of social democratic marches, in Finland a student celebration, and in India it is Labour Day, Antarrashtriya Shramik Diwas. The United States and Canada keep Labor Day in September.
May Day and Labour Day dates: 2026, 2027, 2028
| Year | May Day and Labour Day date |
|---|---|
| 2026 | Friday, 1 May 2026 |
| 2027 | Saturday, 1 May 2027 |
| 2028 | Monday, 1 May 2028 |
What is eaten
- lily of the valley
- picnic
- bratwurst
Traditions of May Day and Labour Day
Also part of it, and being written: Haymarket affair (The 1886 event behind the day.), Lily of the valley (The French good-luck flower.).
More marked on May Day and Labour Day
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreMorris dance
A rhythmic English folk dance performed in costume with bells, sticks and handkerchiefsPerformance
🇺🇸 Honolulu, United StatesLei Day
A statewide celebration in Hawaii honoring the art of lei making and the aloha spirit.Festival
🇮🇪 Dublin, Ireland and 3 moreMay Day
A traditional European festival welcoming summer with greenery, dances and bonfiresSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇨🇳 ChinaGolden Week黄金周
Seven- or eight-day national holiday periods in China for travel and family visitsSeasonal
🇳🇴 Oslo, NorwayRussefeiring
A spring graduation rite of passage for Norwegian secondary school studentsRite of passage
🇮🇪 Uisneach, Ireland and 1 moreBeltaneBealtaine
A Gaelic first-of-summer festival of bonfires, May flowers and feasting on 1 MaySeasonal
🇩🇪 Saalfeld, Germany and 5 moreEaster egg treeOstereierbaum
A German springtime custom of dressing living trees and branches with blown eggsFestival
🇺🇸 Chicago, United States and 5 moreLabour Day
A day honouring workers, kept on 1 May in most countries and on other dates elsewhereFestival
Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background: "International Workers' Day" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Beltane: Stefan Schäfer, Lich, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- May Day: Bryan Ledgard, CC BY 2.0, source
- Golden Week: User:czhongwu, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Russefeiring: Unknown author, CC BY 2.0, source
- Easter egg tree: Frank schubert, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Morris dance: Des Blenkinsopp, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Maypole: Uploaded by Mikael Häggström, CC0, source
- Lei Day: Janine, CC BY 2.0, source
- Labour Day: C.Stadler/Bwag, CC BY-SA 4.0, source