Traditionally, May 1st is "picnic day" here in Romania. It is actually the international version of labor day and was a major holiday under communism, celebrating the army of workers with parades, demonstrations, speeches, etc. Since the fall of communism, it continues to be a big holiday, but the government now plays a very small role (other than making sure most people have the day off!). Even before that, Romanians celebrated May 1st as the coming of spring. Now, everybody celebrates by getting out of the city to wherever they can find "green grass" (the way they describe it) and having a picnic. The church traditionally has their picnic on the Saturday after May 1st.
My first year here, I was out of town, having my first face-to-face meeting with our publishers. Every year since, we have had gorgeous weather on May 1st, but it has rained on the Saturday after. Because of the busy wedding season & other events, the picnic was always cancelled rather than simply postponed a few weeks. This year, true to form, it rained on the Saturday after May 1st & the picnic was cancelled. However, this year, we were finally able to reschedule the picnic for 2 weeks later (May 17), and I finally got to go. I even got the sunburn to prove it!
It was a gorgeous day, not too hot & not too cold. A few minutes of rain mid-afternoon, and then back to the sunshine we had been enjoying. We also enjoyed hot dogs and mici (pronounced "meech") - a Romanian barbecue staple. And green grass. And quiet. And no traffic (well, except our train of cars & the occasional horse-drawn cart that went past). Fantastic!
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