May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking
the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May,
around halfway between the Northern Hemisphere’s
Spring equinox and Midsummer solstice.
International Workers’ Day is also observed on May 1st.
Illustration of The Exodus from Egypt (1907)
Passover is a major Jewish holiday and one of the Three
Pilgrimage Festivals. It celebrates the Exodus of the
Israelites from slavery in Egypt.
(Tenement Museum)
The first recorded parade honoring the Catholic feast day of
St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland,was held in what is now
St. Augustine, Florida.
Records show that a St. Patrick’s Day parade was held on
March 17, 1601 in a Spanish colony under the direction of
the colony’s Irish vicar, Ricardo Artur.
More than a century later, homesick Irish soldiers serving
in the English military marched in Boston in 1737 and in
New York City on March 1762.
The dates of St.Patrick’s life cannot be fixed with
certainty, but there is general agreement that he
was active as a missionary in Ireland during the
fifth century.
