Weekends and holidays in May

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

In 2012, Vladimir Putin, while still prime minister, during the election campaign for the post of head of state, proposed to shorten the long Christmas holidays in favor of May. A survey of the civilian population showed that compatriots are in solidarity with the president's opinion. Since then, the winter holidays have been limited to seven days, and the days off (Saturday and Sunday) that fall on these days are added to the May holidays. Thus, holidays in May, together with days off, make up almost half of the month.

Politicians' opinions about the May holidays

However, not all deputies are satisfied with such a schedule of rest. Some of them believe that the New Year holidays are a much less significant occasion for a national holiday than Victory Day. This part of the politicians advocates reducing the New Year holidays to four days, and the remaining three days are proposed to link the holidays - May 1 and May 9.

Other politicians believe that the abundance of days off adversely affects the country's economy, because employers have to pay for these forced downtime. The idea of abandoning the New Year holidays is put forward by the partyGennady Zyuganov for many years, but has not yet found support among other members of the government. However, these are not the most radical proposals to change the duration of holidays for adults. Sergey Smirnov (Director of the Higher School of Economics) generally proposes to leave only two days off a year: Christmas and May 9.

May holidays schedule in 2015

Many Russians are interested in how many holidays there are in May. Due to the "floating" weekend, every year the number of holidays is not the same. So, in May 2013, our fellow citizens rested for 13 days, in 2014 - 12 days, and in 2015 the Russians will rest for 13 days. Four of them fall on May Day, 3 - in honor of the veterans of the Great Victory and 6 - on the weekly weekend.

In 2015, in honor of May 1, citizens will have a rest on May 1, 2, 3, 4. May 1 - Day of Spring and Labor. And May 2 is a holiday only because it is a day off, like May 3. May 4 will be a holiday due to the postponement of the holiday from January 4, 2015.

Russians will celebrate the Victory Day on May 9, 10, 11. May 10, 11 are days off, and May 9 is a holiday in honor of the Victory over Nazi Germany in 1945.

Opening hours before the holidays - on April 30 and May 8, the shift is reduced by 1 hour.

The Emergence of the Spring Festival

It turns out that May Day has a long history among many nations. Three thousand years ago, the inhabitants of Italy in the last month of spring worshiped Maya, the goddess of fertility. In herhonor May bears its name.

Labor Day became May Day in 1886. After the American workers from Chicago went on strike to their government, protesting against the long working day. This strike ended with the killings and executions of the workers. Three years later, in 1889, the Paris Congress of the Second International decided that from now on, May 1 is the Day of Solidarity of the Workers of the World.

Someone, like the Russians, celebrates spring and labor on May 1, while others celebrate much more colorful events on this day. So, exotic Hawaiian dances are celebrated on May 1 in the Hawaiian Islands, National Unity Day in Kazakhstan, Gopher Day in Canada, Buddha's Birthday in Korea, and a holiday of law, loy alty and children's he alth in the USA.

The Emergence of May Day in Russia

In Russia, holidays in May were officially celebrated after the October Revolution - in 1917. Then the first military parades and demonstrations of workers took place across the country. Later, a tradition of mass festivities of the people in nature appeared, then it was called Mayevka. For many years, May Day was the only holiday for the Soviet people.

After the overthrow of the Soviet regime, in 1992, Workers' Solidarity Day was renamed Spring and Labor Day. Despite this, the May holidays are still used by Russians to hold political rallies and political demonstrations. In the world, this day is still celebrated as the day of Solidarity.

Workers' Solidarity Day is celebrated on 142countries, in particular in Belarus, Belgium, Germany, France, Denmark, England, China, Egypt and a number of other states.

How May Day is celebrated in Russia today

In the history of the new Russia, May 1 as the Day of Solidarity of Workers continues to be celebrated by organizations in opposition to the ruling party, as well as anarchists. At the spring rally, these associations put forward a number of demands to the government.

The official authorities on this day focus on achievements in the labor, social and pension spheres. Some subjects of the Russian Federation on holidays in May carry out public cleaning of forests, parks and nature reserves, attracting residents for this.

Every year, at rallies in honor of Spring and Labor, about 100 thousand people take to the streets of the city to participate in demonstrations. The rest prefer to use May Day to start the summer season, repairs, barbecue picnics and other things.

Meaning of the Great Victory Day

What holidays in May are dedicated to the Day of Victory over the German occupiers, every resident of Russia and most citizens of the countries of the former Soviet Union know. May 9 is the most beloved and dear day for Russians. On this day in 1945, the Wehrmacht surrender agreement was signed. The surrender agreement symbolizes the end of the Great Patriotic War.

Despite the significance of the date, this day was not celebrated until Leonid Brezhnev came to power. His predecessors believed that the wounds inflicted by the war were too deep to celebrate this day, and therefore this day was for a long timeworkers. True, on this day there was always a festive mood, people congratulated each other, the Soviet press published holiday booklets and postcards.

During the Brezhnev era, this day was declared an official public holiday. Since that time, military parades, air shows, fireworks and honoring the participants of the Great Patriotic War began to be arranged in large cities.

Celebrations of May 9 in other countries

The celebration of Victory Day has also received its development in Western European states. Due to the difference in time, Victory Day in the world is celebrated on different dates - for example, when it was May 9 in Russia, in some Western countries it was only the 8th.

No other country in the world celebrates this holiday as widely as in Russia, Belarus and Serbia. This day is respected in the UK, as there is the largest diaspora of WWII veterans in Western Europe. On May 8, a small parade is held in France with the participation of the president. The United States celebrates European Victory Day over Nazi Germany. Vietnam celebrates its Independence from France on this day. In other countries, this day is either not celebrated, or is celebrated very modestly and is not considered a significant national event.

Celebrating the Great Victory in Russia

Celebrations in May in honor of the overthrow of the Nazi regime in Russia have always been very magnificent. More than a thousand cultural events are held throughout the country:

• Lunches and tea parties are organized for veterans;
• organized concertsprograms;
• veterans are congratulated by the heads of cities, municipalities, trade union organizations;
• city streets are decorated with festive posters;
• veterans are given gifts and social events are organized for them;
• Victory balls are organized in the style of the 40s;
• broadcast multimedia programs;
• Victory parade in the capital;
• holiday fireworks are fired in all cities.

In closing

In Russia, no holiday is celebrated as colorfully as Victory Day. Unfortunately, many Russians perceive this day as just an opportunity to relax. While for the veterans this is not just a holiday, it is a day of bitter memories. We owe this victory to them, and therefore on May 9 we need to think about the feats that they have accomplished for the sake of our future. Victory Day is, first of all, a great day in the history of the country, and only secondly - a public holiday.