You are advised to visit the National Library of Belarus's virtual collection on the eve of the spring and Labour Day holidays, which include postcards for May 1.
This holiday has more than a century of history. In the Russian Empire, May 1 was first celebrated in Warsaw in 1890 with the May Day workers' strike. In pre-revolutionary times, workers' May Day celebrations were also held in Belarus. However, May Day became truly massive and large-scale during the USSR and was celebrated as the Day of International Solidarity of Workers.
The holiday was long-awaited: the cities were decorated in advance, in the morning people went to the demonstration, where they met with their relatives, friends, colleagues, congratulated the leaders of labor, and then went to visit each other, gave gifts. The famous May Day slogan "Peace! Labour! May!" is still remembered today.
A group of supremacist artists. Sketch of the decoration of a tram for the celebration of May 1, 1920 in Vitebsk. Postcard from the collections of the National Library of Belarus.
Labour Day is observed on May 1 as a national holiday in the Republic of Belarus.
May 1 is traditionally a day off in our time and is connected to the rebirth of nature, the spirit of spring, the start of country chores, and landscaping work. The National library holds more than 480 visual materials dedicated to this topic.
You are invited to view a virtual collection of postcards from the collections of the National Library. Some, looking at them, will remember their past and relatives with whom they once celebrated May Day. It will be useful for modern youth to learn about this holiday and its history.
We congratulate you on Labour Day and wish you everyone a pleasant mood, new accomplishments, and labour successes!
The article is provided by the Information and analytical department.
