From: benlizro@ihug.co.nz   
      
   Yes, of course it's a big holiday, known as Labo(u)r Day in about 30   
   countries on my list.   
   "For most countries, "Labour Day" is synonymous with, or linked with,   
   International Workers' Day, which occurs on 1 May."   
   See this article for a number of countries which celebrate "Labo(u)r   
   Day" at completely different times of year.   
      
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labour_Day   
      
   This observance is of late 19th century origin:   
      
   "The International Workers Congress held in Paris in 1889 established   
   the Second International for labor, socialist, and Marxist parties. It   
   adopted a resolution for a "great international demonstration" in   
   support of working-class demands for the eight-hour day. The date was   
   chosen by the American Federation of Labor to commemorate a general   
   strike in the United States, which had begun on 1 May 1886 and   
   culminated in the Haymarket affair on 4 May."   
      
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Workers%27_Day   
      
   But May 1 is "Spring Day" in Estonia, and "Vappu" in Finland. And this   
   brings us to a much older holiday, in honour of the beginning of summer   
   or of St.Walpurga (who was English!).   
      
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_Day   
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walpurgis_Night   
      
   Ob/sci.lang   
      
   "Mayday!" is an international radio distress signal.   
   It comes, we are told, from French "m'aidez!" (help me).   
   But we were taught in school that, while the object pronoun (me) is   
   normally proclitic to the verb, in the imperative it must follow it   
   (aidez-moi!). The use as a distress call dates back only to the 1920s,   
   so I don't think we can appeal to some earlier stage of the language to   
   justify "m'aidez". The other possibility is that it's really "m'aider",   
   which (OED suggests) could be either short for "venez m'aider" (come and   
   help me!), or perhaps the "imperative infinitive". This expression gave   
   me pause. I think I have encountered French infinitives used with   
   imperative force, but my experience doesn't tell me what contexts they   
   are used in and with what pragmatic force. Of course you would get the   
   infinitive with "veuillez..." or "voulez-vous..." (kindly, would you   
   please), but those do not have the urgency appropriate to a distress call.   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)