May Day, Law Day, International Worker's Day, Day Day

An early Easter made April less holiday-filled than usual, so now that May has rolled around, everyone's ready for a bit of celebrating. The first of May is host to more holidays than you might imagine, from the obvious MAYDAY! to the perhaps lesser-known Law Day. Here's an overview of May 1 holidays and a brief preview of stuff to do on May 5, Boston's beloved CINCO DE MAYO (strangely unrelated to the sandwich spread).

May Day
The Globe offers a good overview of Thomas Morton, the womanizing, beer-izing, non-Puritan Bostonian who first brought the holiday, derived in part from pagan spring celebrations, to the city in 1627. His flirtatious reputation lends a suggestive meaning to the phrase "impressive 80-foot Maypole." Heh. (Yes, we are twelve.)

International Workers' Day
Commemorating the 1886 Haymarket riots of Chicago, International Worker's Day was established by the Second International in 1889. It's been a common day for protests throughout the years, and 2008 is no exception, seeing demonstrations (particularly immigration-related) in Seattle, Texas, Milwaukee, and elsewhere.

Law Day
If you're listening to Lou Dobbs, International Law Day is sort of a friendlier nickname for International Get Out of Our Country And/Or Accept Crappy Wages Day. Uplifting!

Cinco de Mayo
Cinco means 5, so today is not actually Cinco de Mayo. And Cinco de Mayo is not actually an official Corona holiday, although that's how it's usually celebrated in the U.S. The holiday commemorates a Mexican victory over the French in Puebla, Mexico, in 1862, but since we don't really care about any history other than our own, Cinco de Mayo is mostly an excuse to drink bad tequila and speak worse Spanish. Ole!

Though the holiday's on Monday, this weekend is as good a time as any to start celebrating. Taqueria La Mexicana in Somerville will have its grand opening on Saturday from 3-8pm, followed by additional Cinco de Mayo festivities on the holiday itself. The Cactus Club encourages you to come shake your maracas Saturday night, and the Beehive will host Me Casa Bee Casa, a total linguistic travesty, on Monday. You can celebrate Cinco de Mayo todo el fin de semana at Tavern on the Water, which has festivities May 2, 3, 4, and 5. The party includes a chance to win Kenny Chesney tickets. We're pretty sure nothing says "Cinco" como "Kenny."

Maypole image from Flickr user Visulogik