May Day occurs on May 1st and refers to any of several public holidays. As a day of celebration the holiday has ancient origins and relates to many customs that have survived into modern times. Many of these customs are due to May Day being a cross-quarter day, meaning that (in the Northern Hemisphere, where it is almost exclusively celebrated), it falls approximately halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. May Day has it origins in pagan pre-Christian festivals related to agriculture and fertility, and its celebration involved joy and light-hearted fun in the outdoors as the warmer weather of spring and summer began.
Today, May Day is celebrated in several European nations and the United States, in cultural expressions ranging from Maypole dancing to foot races, May Baskets, singing, and festivals. Alternatively, in many countries, May Day is synonymous with International Workers' Day, or Labor Day, which celebrates the social and economic achievements of the labor movement. Thus, May Day has acquired a second meaning, quite different from the original one which stemmed from spiritual roots and connections to nature; the later one coming from secular efforts to improve human society through struggle and conflict. (Copied from the New World Encyclopedia.)
In my childhood, I can remember picking fresh flowers and placing them into construction paper made baskets and leaving them on select porches in our neighborhood. I tried to get my sons into the tradition but it wasn't as grand an experience as I remembered as a child so we didn't keep it up. (I am assuming it was because they were boys!) However it is that you celebrate (or not), have a wonderful May Day.
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