7 ways of the most magical ways to celebrate May Day in Europe
There’s much more to 1 May than maypoles and Morris dancing across the continent…
While the astronomical start of spring in the northern hemisphere is marked by the equinox around 20 March, many countries begin celebrating the season properly on May Day.
If you’re from the UK, you’ll associate 1 May with maypoles, Morris dancing and crowning the May Queen, but there are lots of different traditions across Europe.
Here are 7 of the most magical ways to celebrate May Day across the continent.
1. Irminden – Bulgaria
In Bulgaria, May Day is associated with snakes and lizards, and, more importantly, the rituals the locals have to perform to protect people from them.
Old Bulgarians believe that snakes come out on the days of Annunciation, and on Irminden their king comes out. Hence, if people work in the fields on 1 May they will almost certainly be bitten by a snake in the summer.
To avoid this happening, fires are lit for people to jump over and make noise to scare the snakes away.
Read next: Trekking through 2,500 years of history in Bulgaria
2. Walpurgisnacht – Germany
High in the Harz Mountains of Germany, they celebrate May Day the night before with bonfires and the wrapping of the Maibaum (maypole). Walpurgisnacht takes its name from Saint Walpurga, who was believed to battle pest, rabies, whooping cough and witchcraft in the country, so many of the bonfires you encounter will also feature witch dolls. People use the opportunity to party under the guise of the motto ‘Tanz in den Mai!‘ (‘Dance into May!’).
The day itself usually involves going for a walk to get fresh air. And nurse the inevitable hangover.
Read next: Bach, Bauhaus and romantic roads: This is why you should visit Germany in 2025
3. Walpurgis Night – Finland
Like their German cousins, young Finns like to start celebrating May Day the night before, with night-long parties that culminate in ‘crowning’ statues around town with student caps. May Day itself, or Vappu as the Finns like to call it, is celebrated with street parties and the consumption of a special lemonade made from lemons, brown sugar and yeast, called sima along with a funnel cake called tippaleipä.
Read next: Tap into the Finnish happiness in Tampere
4. May Morning – Oxford, England
In this famous university town, students gather below the Great Tower of Magdalen College at 6am to listen to the college choir sing traditional madrigals. With that out of the way they then jump off Magdalen Bridge into the River Cherwell. In recent years the bridge has been closed on 1 May to save the students from themselves. The water is only two feet deep and many were injuring themselves, some quite badly.
5. Kettle Bridge Clogs – Maidstone, England
1 May marks the official start of the Morris dancing season in England and to mark the occasion, the Kettle Bridge Clogs Morris dancing troupe dance across the Barming Bridge, spanning the River Medway near Maidstone. It happens at 7.15pm on May 1 each year.
6. Prvomajski uranak – Serbia
While the Finns and Germans are most likely nursing a hangover come the morning of 1 May, over in Serbia, May Day celebrations start bright and early. Prvomajski uranak (literally May Day morning) sees people across the country head out into the countryside for camping and barbecues with family and friends. Some may even get a head start by camping overnight.
Read next: 11 of the best places to visit in Serbia
7. Protomagia – Greece
Protomagia has its roots in ancient Greece, and is dedicated to both Maia, the goddess of fertility, and Demeter, the goddess of agriculture. The day is marked with the creation of decorative wreaths, traditionally made of wild flowers, which are kept until the night of Saint John’s Eve (23 June), when they are burnt in bonfires.
Read next: Secret Greece: What to see and do in UNESCO-listed Zagori
