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Test Yourself

Quiz: How much do you know about May Day?

Pagans and workers of the world unite.
10.00pm, 1 May 2022
34.8k
17

FROM CELTS AND Romans in ancient times, to workers and neopagans in the modern era, May Day has meant a lot of different things to different people over the years.

Whether it’s marking the start of summer or celebrating the working class, people have repeatedly been drawn to 1 May as a date of significance.

Test your knowledge of May Day to mark the day that’s in it.

The earliest known May celebrations go all the way back to ancient Rome to honour Flora, the goddess of ________________
Butter
Housing

Vegetables
Flowers
Throughout Europe, 1 May is associated with rural pagan festivals, what ancient celtic festival took place in Ireland around May Day?
Alamy
Samhain
Imbolc

Bealtaine
Lughnasa
A traditional Irish May Day rhyme goes: “Long Life, _____________ and a candle for the May Bush”.
No strife
A pretty wife

A cook’s knife
A trip to Fife
What was placed at doorsteps and windowsills on May Day to bring luck and offer protection from mystical forces?
Holy water
Rosary beads

Old boots
Flowers
In what European country is there a tradition of lighting bonfires to ward off witches?
Alamy
Czech Republic
Estonia

Germany
Slovakia

All of the above
What’s the idea behind Maypole dancing?
Alamy
It wards off evil spirits
It helps ensure fertility

It guides departed souls to the otherworld
What political ideology is May Day associated with?
Socialism
Fascism

Libertarianism
Conservatism
Socialist activists originally chose the day to hold demonstrations across numerous countries in support of _______________
A ban on private enterprise
An eight-hour work day

Free healthcare
A planned economy
Where were large military parades regularly held every 1 May during the Cold War?
Alamy
Red Square, Moscow
Times Square, New York

Trafalgar Square, London
Eyre Square, Galway
Finally, in what year did May Day become a public holiday in Ireland?
1886
1932

1994
2009
Answer all the questions to see your result!
You scored out of !
A
Top of the class!
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You scored out of !
Lovely result
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You scored out of !
C
'I'll take it'
Share your result:
You scored out of !
D
You just about scraped it!
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You scored out of !
F
The questions didn't suit you.
Share your result:

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    Alex Marquis
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    May 1st 2022, 10:49 PM

    Maypole dancing will always remind me of The Wicker Man, one of the spookiest movies I have ever seen.

    144
    Aidy McBride
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    May 2nd 2022, 2:12 AM

    @Alex Marquis: That film was just beyond weird.

    27
    Seamus Mac
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    May 2nd 2022, 10:40 AM

    @Alex Marquis: Classic movie. The new Nicholas Cage version is terrible.

    9
    Nollaig Kelly
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    May 1st 2022, 11:10 PM

    9/10. Got the year of the bank holiday wrong!!!!

    76
    Larry Betts
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    May 1st 2022, 11:27 PM

    @Nollaig Kelly: I remember it well. Was a big fan of Formula 1 racing at that time. That was the weekend when Ayrton Senna crashed and was in a coma before life support was turned off.

    59
    Fiona Naughton-Commins
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    May 1st 2022, 10:19 PM

    8/10 :)

    59
    Liam MacSuibhne
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    May 1st 2022, 10:16 PM

    10/10 woohoo

    44
    Irish Antichrist
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    May 1st 2022, 10:26 PM

    I miss the Pagans, F Paddy anyways

    49
    Gillian O'Coinne
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    May 2nd 2022, 12:02 AM

    8 out of 10 not bad

    27
    SPQH
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    May 2nd 2022, 12:39 AM

    For those looking for an easy score….. I stoopidly got the ideology question wrong with the answer basically spelt out in the question below….. Eyes roll

    31
    Declan Dalton
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    May 2nd 2022, 10:52 AM

    We have our current president to thank for our May Day holiday. He was a minister at that time. Thanks Michael D

    19
    Patrick Corr
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    May 2nd 2022, 12:45 AM

    8/10 I’m a happy pagan at that.

    18
    2thFairy
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    May 2nd 2022, 1:15 AM

    10/10 Pagan and proud

    20
    Ken Loughman
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    May 2nd 2022, 12:36 AM

    I don’t know how, but 10/10 for me.

    14
    O'Brien Michael
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    May 2nd 2022, 12:48 AM

    5/10
    Godammit man

    13
    Fiona Fitzgerald
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    May 2nd 2022, 10:42 AM

    8/10, I got the official holiday year wrong.

    6
    Declan Gilsenan
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    May 2nd 2022, 8:57 AM

    10/10

    5
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