Don't touch May Day!

I am deeply dismayed by John Penrose's Tourism Strategy for the UK that was published earlier today.

First, it decided to abandon the plan of moving UK clocks forward by an hour all year round, this despite the overwhelming evidence that it would boost tourism and the economy and have a great impact on our attempts at reducing carbon emissions. As a big supporter of the Lighter Later campaign, I feel quite let down.

But what pains me the most is his proposal of scrapping the May Day bank holiday. May Day for us pagans is one of our major festivals, we call it Beltane. Along with Yule, it is my favourite festival, a time for love and joy. I understand the logic behind wanting to extend the tourism season by moving a bank holiday but why sacrifice May Day? Why not one of the other bank holidays? In Belgium where I come from, only Easter Monday is a bank holiday, not Good Friday. Why not sacrifice that then? Or what about the Spring bank holiday at the end of May? Why can't we move that one instead?

Of course his plans will not stop me, or my fellow pagans, from celebrating Beltane. But it was nice to have a day off for it. It was also nice that somewhere in the calendar, there was still a remnant of our pagan heritage. Ostara has become Easter, Yule has become Christmas but May Day was, well, May Day! A date taken from the old pagan calendar, even if many had no idea why they were celebrating on that day. And I suspect John Penrose is amongst those ignorants!