Before May Day meant flower crowns and Maypoles, it was known for something far more surprising: trial marriages.

In medieval Europe, couples celebrating May Day could take part in a ritual known as handfasting—a symbolic union where their hands were tied with ribbon or cloth. The agreement? Be married for a year and a day, then decide whether to make it permanent—or walk away, no hard feelings. It was a romantic, if unconventional, way to test the waters of commitment. And yes—this is where we get the phrase “tying the knot.”

But the story of May Day goes back even further. Over 2,000 years ago, the Celts celebrated Beltane on May 1, lighting bonfires to welcome summer and encourage fertility. Around the same time, the Romans threw a multi-day party called Floralia to honor the goddess of flowers.

By the Middle Ages, these traditions merged into a lively spring holiday: people danced around the Maypole, gathered flowers at dawn, and crowned a May Queen. Some saw May Day as playful and life-affirming. Others, like the Puritans, tried to ban it for being too joyful.

Even now, echoes of these rituals remain—a strange, beautiful reminder that spring has always meant more than just blooming flowers.