In 2012, Vladimir Putin, then still the 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 civilians showed that compatriots agree with the opinion of the president. Since then, the winter holidays have been limited to seven days, and weekends falling on these days (Saturday and Sunday) are added to the May holidays. Thus, holidays in May, along with weekends, are almost half a month.
Opinions of politicians about the May holidays
However, not all deputies are satisfied with such a rest schedule. Some of them believe that the New Year holidays are a much less significant reason for national holidays than Victory Day. This part of the politicians advocates reducing the New Year holidays to four days, and the remaining three days it is proposed to link the holidays - May 1 and May 9.
Other politicians believe that the abundance of days off affects the country's economy because employers have to pay for these forced downtimes. The idea of abandoning the New Year holidays has been put forward by the party of Gennady Zyuganov for many years, but so far he has not found support among other members of the government. However, these are not the most radical proposals on changing the length of vacations for adults. Sergei Smirnov (director of the Higher School of Economics) generally suggests leaving only two days a year off: Christmas and May 9th.
May vacation schedule 2015
Many Russians are interested in how many holidays in May. In view of the floating weekends, the number of holidays is not the same every year. So, in May 2013, our fellow citizens rested 13 days, in 2014 12 days, and in 2015, Russians will rest 13 days. Four of them are on May Day, 3 - for the celebration of veterans of the Great Victory, and 6 - on a weekly weekend.
In 2015, in honor of May 1, citizens will rest on May 1, 2, 3, 4. May 1 is the 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 festive thanks to the postponement of the weekend from January 4, 2015.
Russians will celebrate the Victory Day on May 9, 10, and 11. May 10, 11 is a weekend, and May 9 is a holiday in honor of the Victory over Nazi Germany in 1945.
Opening hours before the holidays - 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 peoples. Three millennia ago, the inhabitants of Italy in the last month of spring worshiped Maya, the goddess of fertility. May bears her name in her honor.
May Day became work day in 1886. After the American workers from Chicago went on strike to their government, protesting against long working days. This strike ended in the killings and executions of workers. After 3 years, in 1889, the Paris Congress of the Second International decided that henceforth May 1 is the Day of Solidarity of Workers of the World.
Someone, like the Russians, celebrates spring and labor on May 1, while someone celebrates much more colorful events on this day. So, on May 1, exotic Hawaiian dances are celebrated in the Hawaiian Islands, in Kazakhstan - the Day of National Unity, in Canada - Suslik, in Korea - the Birthday of the Buddha, and in the USA - a celebration of law, loyalty and children's health.
The origin of the May Day in Russia
In Russia, public holidays in May officially began to be celebrated after the October Revolution - in 1917. Then the first military parades and demonstrations of workers took place around the country. Later, the tradition of mass walks of the people in nature appeared, then it was called Mayday. For many years May Day was the only holiday for the Soviet people.
After the overthrow of the Soviet regime, in 1992, the Day of Workers' Solidarity was renamed the Day of Spring and Labor. Despite this, the May holidays are still used by Russians to conduct political rallies and political demonstrations. In the world, this day is still celebrated as the day of Solidarity.
Workers' Solidarity Day is celebrated in 142 countries, in particular in Belarus, Belgium, Germany, France, Denmark, England, China, Egypt and several other countries.
How to celebrate May Day in Russia today
In the history of new Russia, May 1, opposition organizations of the ruling party, as well as anarchists, continue to mark Day of Workers' Solidarity. At the spring rally, these associations put forward a number of demands on the authorities.
The authorities on this day focus on achievements in the labor sector, social and pension. Some subjects of the Russian Federation on public holidays in May carry out public cleaning of forests, parks and reserves, attracting residents for this.
About 100 thousand people take to the streets of the city every year at rallies in honor of Spring and Labor to participate in demonstrations. The rest prefer to use May Day to start the summer season, repairs, picnics with barbecue and other things.
The meaning of the day of the Great Victory
What holidays in May are dedicated to Victory Day over the German invaders, is known to every resident of Russia and most citizens of the countries of the former Soviet Union. May 9 is the most beloved and dear to the Russians day. On this day in 1945, an agreement on the surrender of the Wehrmacht 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 a working day for a long time. True, a festive mood always reigned on this day, people congratulated each other, the Soviet press issued holiday booklets and postcards.
During Brezhnev’s day, this day was declared an official state holiday. Since that time, military parades, air shows, salutes and honoring of WWII participants began to take place in large cities.
May 9 festivals in other countries
The celebration of Victory Day was developed in Western European countries. Due to the time difference, Victory Day in the world is celebrated on different dates - so when in Russia it was May 9th, in some Western countries - only the 8th.
In no country in the world is this holiday celebrated as widely as in Russia, Belarus and Serbia. They respect this day in Great Britain, since 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 USA celebrates the Victory Day of Europe over Nazi Germany. Vietnam on this day celebrates its independence from France. 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 the Russian Federation
Holidays 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;
- concert programs are organized;
- Heads of cities, municipalities, trade unions congratulate veterans ;
- city streets are decorated with holiday posters;
- give veterans gifts and organize social events for them;
- organized Victory balls in the style of the 40s;
- multimedia programs are broadcast;
- Victory parade is taking place in the capital;
- in all cities festive fireworks are issued.
Finally
In Russia, no holiday is celebrated as colorful as Victory Day. Unfortunately, many Russians perceive this day as just an opportunity to relax. While for front-line soldiers 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 accomplished for the sake of our future. Victory Day is, first of all, a great day in the history of the country, and only on the second - a holiday weekend.