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Labour Day In Russia it is celebrated every year on May 1st. However, few people know that the important date was celebrated with pomp before – long before the emergence of the Russian Federation and even the USSR.

Where was the Spring and Labor Festival celebrated on May 1 in the Russian kingdom, and then the empire?

During the Russian Empire, May 1 was celebrated for a completely different reason. There was no Communist Party yet, so the people of the country did not celebrate Labor Day, but simply the onset of spring (then in March and April it was even colder than in our time).

Tradition to celebrate 1st of May originated back in 1711, when the great sovereign Peter I built an estate for his wife Catherine I. The gigantic palace, made of wood, was surrounded on all sides by a garden with many plants and trees. It was named Ekateringof, which translated into Russian means “Catherine’s Court.”

Some time after this May Day holiday They began to celebrate in this palace. Thanks to its gigantic size, it was ideal for social events of this scale. Guests have been invited since the 20s of the 18th century, but the event was not particularly popular at that time.

The May Day holiday in St. Petersburg became mega-popular only in 1824

Particularly famous May Day holiday purchased in 1824. It was from this year that all officials, military men and merchants of St. Petersburg and other cities of the Russian Empire began to come to Ekateringof.

The May Day holiday in Yekateringhof was something of a fashion show. Many visitors tried to show other guests how noble and rich they were. Therefore, they wore beautiful clothes made of high-quality fabric and arrived in the most expensive carriages. Many regarded such an event as a public outing where you need to show yourself from the most advantageous side. Ordinary people did not have access to the event.

Features of the May Day celebration in Yekateringhof

May Day holiday In the Russian Empire everyone celebrated. Guests especially liked to come to Yekateringof for it, since special rules of behavior were in effect on this day. It was allowed to walk without hats and sit on the grass.

On the spring holiday on May 1, ceremonial events began at 17:00. But from early morning on the territory of Yekateringof, many merchant shops opened, selling a wide variety of goods. A sumptuous table was set for the guests. Everyone could enjoy tea, sweets and meat there. Guests were entertained by invited jesters.

However, before the festivities began, all guests waited for the go-ahead from the head of state. At approximately 17:00, the imperial horsemen made a ceremonial tour of the territory, after which the guests began to eat food and have fun.

It was almost impossible for many representatives of the then elite to attend the May Day holiday

Not all distinguished guests could attend the events in honor of May Day holiday. Invitations were sent to all officials, generals and merchants. But there was one caveat.

In Ekateringof on May Day such a large crowd of people was gathering that it was physically impossible for either the general or the official to push through it. Even the writer Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol, who attended the gala event several times in the 20s of the 19th century, admitted that hundreds of people came there. You could drive around in a carriage for a long time and not find a place to pass.

However, already in the 1870s, aristocrats began to attend May Day festivities less and less. Therefore, representatives of the working class began to be allowed into it. Craftsmen and enterprise workers began to attend festivities in large numbers in Yekateringhof. It was during this period May Day holiday became popular.

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