ABSTRACT
May Day demonstrations have been categorized by Eric Hobsbawm as an example of an invented tradition', one intended to validate and give some added authority to the growing labour movements around the world. The May Days in Britain, especially during the first quarter of a century from 1890, were marked by social events as well as by the outdoor rallies. While the anarchists were not as strong as in France and other parts of Europe, they had a notable presence in London, Walsall and a few other places in Britain in the 1890s. May Days in Britain built on current trade union and socialist societies' strengths as well as on radical traditions. Support for May Days emerged strong after World War II but it was soon affected by the Cold War and the annual parades of Soviet might in Red Square.
