May Day is a celebration of communism and socialism (aka "workers day") and is fast spreading throughout the whole world. [url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/mayday/story/0,7369,707721,00.html]May Day Around the World[/url]


[img]http://a740.g.akamai.net/f/740/606/1d/image.pathfinder.com/time/europe/photoessays/mayday/photos/russia.jpg[/img]

I didn't know that's what was celebrated.  

I started by beginning construction of a fence.  Woohoo.

I guess I am celebrating it because I'm here at WORK. [:(]

In the old day, May Day was with a riot and tears gas.

I am celebrating it like I have since 1968, by celebrating my Birthday.
BTW- I used to hate that MY birthday fell on a day celebrated by a bunch of Godless Communists! It still bugs me a little.[:D]

By shooting at targets of chairman Mao, Stalin, Ho, etc.......

Hmmm... "Kill a Commie for Mommy".

[:)]

- CD

I think I will watch Red Dawn. Since I am stuck at home cleaning house. YUCK

Ben

[size=4]Happy Birthday, wiggy762!!![/size=4]

[bday]

I hope you don't mind that I've taken the liberty of inviting some of my 'fellow-travelers' over to help celebrate your birthday![>]:)][>]:)][>]:)][>]:)][>]:)][>]:)][>]:)][>]:)][>]:)][>]:)][>]:)][>]:)][>]:)][>]:)][>]:)][>]:)][>]:)][>]:)][>]:)][>]:)][>]:)][>]:)][>]:)] [img]www.ar15.com/members/albums/EricTheHun%2Fboobies%2Egif[/img][>]:)][>]:)][>]:)][>]:)][>]:)][>]:)][>]:)][>]:)][>]:)][>]:)][>]:)][>]:)]

Unfortunately, being the 'collectivists' that they truly are, my Comrades have eaten all of your 'collective' birthday cake!

There was also a 'topless dancer' who we had hired to entertain you as well, but now she's missing, as well!

Eric The(Somebody,SearchTheParkingLot!)Hun[>]:)]

By changing the oil on my Dads truck.

Happy Birthday wiggy762[bday]

Neighbor gave me a John Deere lawnmower.  Said the "axle is broke, and I ain't no mechanic,"  One look underneath and I said "OK, maybe I can salvage the motor"[img]http://www.stopstart.fsnet.co.uk/smilie/wink2.gif[/img].  Off to the the JD dealer and ordered new axle/differential for $69.

Installed it this morning, and now I have a new lawnmower.

Maybe I should sell it back to my neighbor?

[img]http://www.stopstart.fsnet.co.uk/smilie/biggrin2.gif[/img]

Edited to add:

 [img]http://www.stopstart.fsnet.co.uk/smilie/party.gif[/img] Happy B-Day Wiggy!

i prefer the old ways.
i enjoy pretty maidens dancing around my maypole.

I'm celebrating "May Day" the same way I celebrated "Earth Day"; by taking a couple of massive dumps.

Oh, that reminds me...I'll be right back....

I celebrated it by asking a friend to the BRC!

Wouldn't Stalin be proud!?

By checking my stock of beanbag rounds, OC cans, riot shields and gas maks. Yeah, chances of a commie riot here are pretty slim, but it would break up the monotony...

Mayday is a lot older than you think:

"The international working class holiday; Mayday, originated in pagan Europe. It was a festive holy day celebrating the first spring planting. The ancient Celts and Saxons celebrated May 1st as Beltane or the day of fire. Bel was the Celtic god of the sun.

The Saxons began their May day celebrations on the eve of May, April 30. It was an evening of games and feasting celebrating the end of winter and the return of the sun and fertility of the soil. Torch bearing peasants and villager would wind their way up paths to the top of tall hills or mountain crags and then ignite wooden wheels which they would roll down into the fields

The May eve celebrations were eventually outlawed by the Catholic church, but were still celebrated by peasants until the late 1700's. While good church going folk would shy away from joining in the celebrations, those less afraid of papal authority would don animal masks and various costumes, not unlike our modern Halloween. The revelers, lead by the Goddess of the Hunt; Diana (sometimes played by a pagan-priest in women's clothing) and the Horned God; Herne, would travel up the hill shouting, chanting and singing, while blowing hunting horns. This night became known in Europe as Walpurgisnacht, or night of the witches

The Celtic tradition of Mayday in the British isles continued to be celebrated through-out the middle ages by rural and village folk. Here the traditions were similar with a goddess and god of the hunt.

As European peasants moved away from hunting gathering societies their gods and goddesses changed to reflect a more agrarian society. Thus Diana and Herne came to be seen by medieval villagers as fertility deities of the crops and fields. Diana became the Queen of the May and Herne became Robin Goodfellow (a predecessor of Robin Hood) or the Green Man.

The Queen of the May reflected the life of the fields and Robin reflected the hunting traditions of the woods. The rites of mayday were part and parcel of pagan celebrations of the seasons. Many of these pagan rites were later absorbed by the Christian church in order to win over converts from the 'Old Religion'.

Mayday celebrations in Europe varied according to locality, however they were immensely popular with artisans and villagers until the 19th Century. The Christian church could not eliminate many of the traditional feast and holy days of the Old Religion so they were transformed into Saint days.

Mayday was a raucous and fun time, electing a queen of the May from the eligible young women of the village, to rule the crops until harbest. Our tradition of beauty pagents may have evolved , albeit in a very bastardized form, from the May Queen.

Besides the selection of the May Queen was the raising of the phallic Maypole, around which the young single men and women of the village would dance holding on to the ribbons until they became entwined, with their ( hoped for) new love.

And of course there was Robin Goodfellow, or the Green Man who was the Lord of Misrule for this day. Mayday was a celebration of the common people, and Robin would be the King/Priest/Fool for a day. Priests and Lords were the butt of many jokes, and the Green Man and his supporters; mummers would make jokes and poke fun of the local authorities. This tradition of satire is still conducted today in Newfoundland, with the Christmas Mummery.



- Eugene W. Plawiuk

In grand capitalist style, I figured that I would put on my endangered animal-fur coat and enjoy some candy I stole from a poor Guatemalan baby, then I would set a homeless person on fire and smoke $100 bills by using him to light them.

Then I'd put on my top hat and head back to the manor in my limousine.
[rolleyes]

Some more info:
May Day
by Nancy Sherer
Called Beltane by the Celts, Walpurgis by the Teutons, and Floralia by the Romans, May festivals were a time of "wearing of the green." Throughout the Northern Hemisphere, the month of May is a time to celebrate renewal of life. May is named for Maia, grandmother, the Goddess of death and fertility. Maia scorns marriage, so it is a good idea to put weddings off until June. Although less stern goddesses now oversee May festivities, wreaths and baskets of Hawthorn are still used in some May festivals in Maia's honor.
The May-pole is the most familiar feature of May festivities, but it has three distinct interpretations. In some cultures, the May-pole represented the world center, or alternately, the hub of the Wheel of heaven. In ancient times, the intricate dance of weaving cords around the pole was a magical attempt to direct Nature, which had become topsy-turvy over the course of time, back in order. Today the dance is performed by any who wish to participate in weaving the magic.

In other cultures, the May-pole was the Tree of Life, or a symbol of it. And this tree-- to borrow a phrase from Billy Holiday-- bore strange fruit. This is where the Savior was sacrificed in order to cleanse the earth. Holy Communion, eating his flesh and drinking his blood was possibly restricted to the priest class, but symbolic May Wine was liberally imbibed by the whole community. Hundreds of years later, the Christian lunar festival of Easter would replace the ancient solar festival as the time of renewal and rebirth.

The third meaning of the May-pole most clearly remains today. It is the phallus, the male principle of fertilization. Female principles are represented by baskets and wreaths used in the dances around the pole. In past times, the hand-fasting movements of the dances would give young couples license to 'go into the green' together. In some regions, a merlin, or renegade friar, would preside over the mock marriages. Even today, unwed couples consummate the mock marriages performed around the May-pole. Merry-begats, as they were called in England, were usually not acknowledged by their fathers. These babies were said to have been fathered by god.

In northwest Germany, May-poles are tall trees, cut down and stripped of bottom branches. The upper branches are decorated, then the pole is hoisted, often with the help of a crane, onto a tall post high above the villages. In southern Germany, the May-pole is a stylized structure that will stand for the entire year. On each of its branches is a symbol of each trade or vocation that the villagers pursue.

(cont)
Traditional May Day is a solar festival, celebrated on May fifth, halfway between spring equinox and summer solstice. In England, Queen of the May, Maid Marian, mounted on a white horse is the central figure in the May Day mumming. In ancient times, she would pair off with Merddin as her consort. Nowadays, Merddin is the bearded old wizard, Merlin, and Marian's consort is Robin Hood.

Robert Graves identifies Maid Marian as the sea Goddess Marian, a virgin dressed in a blue robe, wearing a string of pearls. Occasionally referred to as Merrymaid, but more commonly known as Mermaid, she was worshipped by merriners, (now spelled mariners) who would sacrifice to her. "Mer" meaning sea, is the origin of the epithet Merry England, --Rose in the Sea.

Like the Goddess, Maid Marian is surrounded with Merry men. Little John, Will Scarlet, Friar Tuck, Robin Hood, and others form a band of thirteen. Morris Men, who perform a stylized folk dance are commonly believed to have been imported from the near east, Moors who danced a Moorish dance. However, a more ancient spelling indicates that these may have been Mari's men. Mari, the Mother Goddess, fruitful, and compassionate, is usually portrayed holding an apple from the Tree of Life. She turns the Wheel of heaven, and is the mother of the Archer of Love.

Iris is also known as the mother of Love. She was the Goddess of the rainbow, which was the bridge between heaven and earth. In Greek mythology, she lured mourning Demeter, the grain Goddess, out of her cave so that the land would become fruitful again. In Genesis, angered by Yahweh's Flood, she removed the bridge from earth to heaven so he could not receive his sacrifices. When he promised to never flood the earth again, Iris replaced the rainbow.

In Japan, Iris's rainbow bridge is called the road of the gods. May is Iris month, with Boy's Doll Day celebrated on May fifth. Young men drink Iris tea and bath in an Iris infusion to promote health and fertility. Because of the sword shaped leaf and the blossom that resembles female genitalia, the Iris is the symbol of the male and female principles united.

Celebrated for thousands of years throughout diverse cultures, Mayday could be the most ancient religious festival in the Northern Hemisphere. Ritual human sacrifice to a death/fertility goddess was certainly practiced until the 1st Century BCE. As nature became less fearsome, and more cultivated, the nature goddess became less powerful and bloodthirsty. Today, we still celebrate the remnants of an ancient religion, Nature turning on the Wheel of Heaven."

Please respect our pagan beliefs, as we pagans try to show respect to yours. [:D]

Contacted Ft. Bragg "Army Community Services" and arranged for Company collection of paper-back books to be forwarded to our troops in Afghanistan. I'm sure their getting more than a little home-sick and while it's a small thing I believe it helps to let those know defending our country that we haven't forgotten them.

Anyone wishing to do the same can contact:

[b]Martha Brown @ 910-396-4120[/b] and she will get the books to our grunts in the field over there in Ragland.

Her address for Book delivery is :
[b]ARMY COMMUNITY SERVICES
ATTN.: MARTHA BROWN
18th AIRBORNE CORP @ FT. BRAGG
AFZA-CAS-CA
FT. BRAGG, N.C.   28310[/b]

"[b]NO PORNOGRAPHY[/b]" (Playboys/Hustlers)

Mike

"...get up; eat; go out on patrol...we kill some of them, they kill some of us.  Back to base; eat; sleep; get up and do it again..." [;D]

Really.
I'm just celebrating HUMP DAY.

By taking the last frigging final exam I have this year.


I'll celebrate the "worker" by starting my summer job tomorrow at 2230. It would suck, but it's buying me an M4gery.

SAY WHAT !!!!....those magazines you refer to are what some would call...Art magazines...No Porno mags excuse me, Art magazines over in the trenches with our guys...why...THAT'S UNAMERICAN !! [>q]

Will220, they will not allow me to ship direct to Afghanistan, (too sensitive, SECRET type deal)I have to ship to Ft. Bragg and Martha will see to it they get put on a transport to the troops. Hence books will be traveling on Government planes and that is one of their rules. I agree w/ you, but won't jeopardize shipment by violating their rules. No reason not to do what we can, they'll appreciate it. I suspect most have gotten their fill of Al Jazira radio "AMMMa Yaasirs yo momma type crap" and a good book can be a comfort to those so far from home.

Mike

PS - [b]Edited to add new sit-rep, Martha has contacted me w/ new address for shipping direct to an APO address in Afghanistan. Anyone wish this new address may contact me at my e-mail address. BTW turns out it's not a government thing reguarding the NO PORNO rules, it's an Afghanistan thing. Customs in ragland does not allow that stuff into the country[/b].

BTT for update above.

Mike