Maifaiertag (or May Day) is a public holiday that takes place in Germany every year on the first day of May, regardless of which day of the week that happens to fall. All schools, and most businesses, are closed, maypoles are erected, and outdoor parties take place, many of which start early in the day and last late into the night!
The night before Maifaiertag (i.e. the evening of 30th April) is known as Walpurgisnacht (Walpurgis Night) or Hexennacht, because people believed that witches celebrated on this night on the summit of the Blocksberg mountain in Saxony-Anhalt. This is also the time when many people usher in the spring with music and dancing (Tanz in dem Mai).
As in many other parts of the world, May Day (or Labour Day) is also the day on which many people attend organised marches and rallies campaigning for (or simply celebrating) workers’ rights. The biggest events of this nature in Germany take place in Berlin.