Russian poster

My earliest memories of May Day include maypoles and bouquets of flowers left anonymously on neighbors’ front doors.

It wasn’t until I was in my 20s that I really learned about the other May Day. As in International Workers’ Day, which has some roots in Chicago, of all places.

When I lived in Hong Kong, my friends from China assumed all Americans also had a day off on May 1st every year.

“For dancing around the maypole?” I thought to myself.

In China, May Day entailed a week of vacation for almost a decade. But in 2008, it was cut back to just one day. I guess the government realized the economy suffered when the whole country was off for a week in May.

No fears. People in China still enjoy “golden weeks” around Chinese New Year and National Day on October 1st.