Why Do We Celebrate May Day? History, date, traditions and is it a public holiday?

That also means that many people are looking forward to a well-earned holiday, thanks to the tradition of May Day.

Here’s everything you need to know about the special date in the calendar.

When is May Day?

May Day is celebrated on the first day of May - so in 2025 that’s on Thursday, May 1.

Is May Day a public holiday?

May Day itself isn’t a public holiday but the first Monday on, or after, May Day is. That means in 2025 the May Day bank (and public) holiday will be on Monday, May 5. Many businesses and offices will be closed for the day - including, of course, banks. Many doctor’s surgeries and dentists will also be shut, so make sure to plan in advance if you need a repeat prescription. It’s only a one day holiday, so everything will be open again on Tuesday.

Why do we celebrate May Day?

May Day has been celebrated across Europe since ancient times, and traditionally marks the beginning of the summer, roughly halfway between the Northern Hemisphere's Spring equinox and Midsummer solstice. It’s a time to celebrate regrowth and birth at the end of a long winter.

Is it summer then?

Despite celebrating the start of summer on May Day, it’s still very much officially spring. Summer actually starts on either June 20 (astronomically speaking) or June 1 if you favour the meteorological measure.

When is the earliest record of May Day?

Records of celebrations at the start of May have been found dating back as far as the 2nd century when the Romans marked the festival of Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers, from April 27-May 3. Livestock was released as part of the celebrations, which also saw a devotional object of a bundle of wheat placed in temples and animal sacrifices to ensure that the year ahead would provide a good harvest. These traditions famously provided inspiration for perhaps the ultimate May Day film - The Wicker Man.

What are the traditions of May Day?

Different European countries have very different May Day celebrations, but the best known in the UK are dancing around a Maypole, gathering wildflowers and green branches, weaving floral garlands and crowning a May Queen.

In Scotland, the Beltane Fire Festival is held the night before May Day - with the biggest current event taking place on Edinburgh’s Calton Hill and featuring hundreds of performers. The procession is led by the May Queen and the Green Man, followed by a cavalcade of characters who are intrinsically linked to them and their journey. Their destination is punctuated by various groups who either help or hinder their progress towards the Green Man’s fate and the May Queen’s destiny. After a dramatic stage performance signifying the inception of summer the May Queen and Green Man spark the birth of summer by lighting a huge bonfire.

Another Edinburgh tradition on May Day is to get up early and wash your face in the morning dew on on Arthur's Seat on May Day - legend saying that you will benefit from a flawless complexion for the rest of the year.

When is the next bank holiday in Scotland?

There’s not long to wait until the next Scottish bank holiday, with the spring bank holiday falling on Monday, May 26.