The first of May has been a holiday the world over for millenia. Beginning sunset tonight, Zoroastrians celebrate the beginning of Ghambar Maidyozarem, a feast for the creation of the sky. There are seven Ghambars, each celebrating one of the 'seven creations.'

Tomorrow is also, of course, the feast of Beltane, an ancient Celtic fire-festival now mainly celebrated by Wiccans, Druids, and other Neopagans as one of two major yearly holidays.

In Norse and Germanic Pagan traditions, is Walpurgisnacht, the precursor to the traditional northern May-day festivities. According to German tradition, it is also the night of a famous gathering of witches on Brocken Mountain, and all over Europe there are folk traditions celebrating the night, most of which hearken back to ancient Pagan custom- lighting bonfires (and often jumping them), blessing fields and trees, burning brooms are just a few.

In Vodoun (Voodoo), today is the Mange-les-Morts, the feast of the ancestral spirits.