A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Tuesday, May 2, 2017
Commemoration day of workers May Day belongs to workers, not to lotus eaters
In the words of Ernest Barker “individualism so conceived starts,
indeed, from individual personality and from the inherent title of each
individual person to enjoy the conditions necessary to the development
of his capacities. However, just because the development of individual
capacities starts on that basis one cannot develop his capacities fully
without the assistance and the cooperation of others. He must be
surrounded with service, a collective service which in union with
others, he himself helps to provide for others as well as for himself, a
service which becomes all the greater, the more fully the conditions
necessary for his development is recognized and the more his rights are
thereby extended.”
Un-served and unattended individual
Thus he should not be un-served or unattended. It should be a whole
system of collective service which the individuality needs for
development. During the period of feudalism individuals were unaided,
disregarded and ill advised and individual workers were not cooperative.
Hence, they often failed to get their needs and wants satisfied.
Individuals realized that fact. They joined hands and worked together
and achieved better results.
Collectivity and collective bargain
Therefore for the perfection of individual personality and capacity
individuals need the assistance and co-operation of others. Individuals
with similar interests get together and form into unions for mutual
assistance and cooperation. This consolidation provides them strength,
strength for the achievement of their wants and needs. All of them are
benefited by power and strength exchanged among them. A number of sticks
bound together are stronger than a single one. Likewise, individuals
who get together and work together, help one another and share the
available resources to gain momentum to face the challenges
successfully. Workers who could not get their needs and wants satisfied
as they wished by remaining as individuals realized the virtues of
collectivity, cooperation and solidarity extended their friendly hands
to the others who were in the same boat. They realized that their
talents differed. This gave rise to the theories off division of labour
and specialization. They expected recognition, better remuneration,
better working conditions and other comforts. To achieve them they used
collectivity as a weapon. They used the bargaining power and agitated
collectively for the perfection of needs and wants individually as well
as wholly. They formed trade unions. They were functioning well until
politics interfered to divert the workers to a wrong direction.
How May Day came into being
On May 1, 1886, trade unions throughout the USA went on a strike
demonstrating that the standard work day be shortened to eight hours.
While socialists believed that all the people were equal anarchists
believed that the government and the law should over rule the workers.
There was a clash between the stand of the workers and that of the
rulers and the workers went on strike in organized labour movements. The
climax was the incident in Chicago Hay market where in the course of
the riot on May 4th an anarchist threw a bomb causing the death of a
number of persons, including police officers and injuring more than 100
people.
Eight-hour working days
These protests did not bring immediate results but the working class
went on with their protests demanding eight hour working days and
eventually it has become a norm. The men who were arrested after the Hay
Market riot of 1886 in Chicago Illinois, on May 4 were executed. In
communication of this execution, May Day is called the International
Workers’ Day or the Labour Day. Consequently this May Day became
established as an anarchists’ holiday and in this form May Day has
become an International celebration of social and economic achievements
of the working class and a labour movement.
Loyalty Day
Although May Day observances began in the USA it was not officially or
popularly recognized as a holiday there. May 1 was officially designated
by the UN Congress as a Loyalty Day in 1958 because of the association
of May Day with Communism.
The Paris Workers’ Congress held in Paris on 14-20 July 1889, the most notable decision was to call on all workers to celebrate May 1st each year as the International Festival of the working class.
Labour leaders, socialists and archaists around the world have taken the American strikes and their fall out as a rallying point choosing May Day as a day for demonstrations, parades, meetings and speeches. It was a major state holiday in the Soviet Union (USSR) and other Communist countries consequent to the incident in Chicago.
The Paris Workers’ Congress held in Paris on 14-20 July 1889, the most notable decision was to call on all workers to celebrate May 1st each year as the International Festival of the working class.
Labour leaders, socialists and archaists around the world have taken the American strikes and their fall out as a rallying point choosing May Day as a day for demonstrations, parades, meetings and speeches. It was a major state holiday in the Soviet Union (USSR) and other Communist countries consequent to the incident in Chicago.
May Day Celebrations in various countries and attempts to undermine
May Day is celebrated in most of the countries world over as the day of
the working class. Meanwhile various authorities have tried to ban or
undermine May Day, particularly the Communist observances during the
cold war or hostilities among nations without actual fighting. In 1958
President Eisenhower designated May 1st as both Law Day and the Loyalty
Day. In many countries including Sri Lanka, May day is celebrated not
solely for the benefit of the working class but for other purposes such
as gaining political ends.
Flora festival
Flora festivals are also held during this period to mark the beginning
of summer. Flora is the Roman goddess of fruits and flowers. Summer is
the period when fruits and flowers are available in abundance. Hence May
Day is celebrated in the name of goddess Flora from April 28 to May 3.
May poles and trees of liberty at May Day festival
In the past, trees were the symbols of vitality and fertility of nature
and were used at the spring festival. The May Tree has since become the
“Tree of Liberty”. This was the symbol of the French Revolution. As a
part of the May Day celebrations the youth in old Europe cut down trees
lopped off the branches, leaving a few at the top of each tree. They
wrapped the trees round with violets like figure of Attics, the Ancient
Roman God. At Sunrise they took the trees to their villages blowing
horns and flutes. This was done to symbolize the processing god Attics
to the temple Cybil on Rome Palestine Hill during the spring festival of
March 22. By the middle ages, every English village had its own May
Pole. It was a competition among villagers to produce the largest May
Pole
May Poles constructed for May Day
In small towns and villages, May Poles were constructed only for the May
Day. However, in large cities including London permanent May poles were
erected. When Puritans came into power in 1644 the tradition of
erecting May poles came to an end. However, the Stuarts captured power
within a couple of decades and the reintroduced the tradition.
May Day celebrations in honour of St. Walberg
Another objective in celebrating May Day is to honour the Abbess of the
monastery of Heedenhelm, St. Walberg who had helped St. Boniface bring
Christianity to Germany during the 8th century.
May Day and Pagan Festival
May Day also had a coincidence with a Pagan festival which included
rites to protect one against witchcraft. It was believed that witches
met with the devil in the evening of May 1. It was believed that May Day
celebrations had been conducted to avoid the ill effects of witchcraft.
Celebrations to mark May Day
In the past, in some countries, May Day celebrations began at the Sun
set of April 30th. Celebrations included floral decorations in the
houses at night on the April 30th followed by processions in towns and
villages on the May Day. Celebrations included floral decorations in the
houses at night on April 30 followed by processions in towns and
villages on May Day.
May Day celebrations at sunrise
In some Western countries, children including those in the primary
school participate in May Day festivals. Children start with a special
May Day song followed by a procession to the church. All the children
wear white garments and carry garlands of flowers. All girls wear straw
hats and ribbons in their hair.
House decorations on May Day
In some parts of the globe, people get up early in the morning on May
Day and go out to collect flowers and greenery and decorate their
houses. They believe that the spirit of vegetation will bring good
fortune. Girls wash their faces in the dew of the early morning. They
believe that this would make them beautiful and remain same during the
whole year. They attend to various festivities during the rest of the
day. They dance in the village green. They also engage in archery
contests and exhibit their strength.
May Day queen
The main item of the day is the crowning the May Day Queen. The model of
the May Day Queen is made of flowers or a beautiful girl is selected
for the crown. In the past it did not take part in games or dancing but
sat on a chair decked with flowers and watched the performances of
others. The tradition is followed even at present.