Unusual 1st May Traditions Only Germans Will Understand

Germany loves to party, and May 1 is the perfect occasion. So perfect, in fact, that the party usually starts well before May Day, on April 30, in a tradition known as ‘dancing into May’, or Tanz in den Mai. This is a tradition practiced in both small towns and big cities, happening across every bar, club and event in one way or another.

In areas such as Bavaria and Lower Saxony, residents still honour this day with a ritual that is reminiscent of pagan times. Similar to the maypole of Anglo traditions, locals dress up in traditional garb, decorate a large pole with all manner of colourful streamers, brew their own beer and play merry music. Perhaps the best part of this tradition is how each community then tries to steal one another’s trees. Towns must go to great measures to safeguard their totems, or risk paying their mischievous neighbours a ransom, that is usually made up of a whole bunch of beer and sausages.

Depending on who you are and where you come from, May 1 in Germany will either be just another excuse to party, an opportunity to sell drinks to thirsty crowds or to retain its original meaning, as an ode to the working class and eternal struggle against oppression. If you find yourself in the German capital at this time, the centre of the storm is none other than Kreuzberg, where marches are organised and the streets become dance floors flooded with people, parties and smashed glass. To the ignorant eye, it might not be obvious that all this debauchery actually has its roots in Berlin’s political scene, as May 1 marks Germany’s Labour Day (Tag der Arbeit).

Known as Hexennacht, May 1 happens to coincide with the night that witches used to meet in the peaks of the Harz Mountains to enjoy a dalliance with the devil, according to German folklore. If you’re in the Harz area on this day, look out for (and join in with) the women who dress up, warts and all, to go and dance and cackle on the mountaintops.

So you’ve had a crush on a special someone for weeks, months (years?!) and still haven’t plucked up the nerve to tell them? Well, May 1 in Germany is your chance. This confessionary tradition is known as Maistrich, or May Line, and is about drawing a line between your house and the house of your dream lover with chalk, signing off your name and hopefully a chance of reciprocation.