Text Credits: Shibul Pavithran

May 1 was a traditional Spring holiday across the northern hemisphere, with numerous rites and ceremonies taking place from Great Britain to Bulgaria. The very first record of May Day celebration appeared with Floralia, the festival of Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers, celebrated on April 27 during the Roman Republic era, and with the Walpurgis Night Celebrations of the Germanic countries. It is also associated with the Gaelic Beltane, most commonly held on April 30. The day was a traditional summer holiday in many European pagan cultures. While February 1 was the first day of spring, May 1 was the first day of summer; hence, the summer solstice on June 25 (now June 21) was Midsummer.

Source: kareliakitchen

Through the course of history, however, the date’s meaning has changed and evolved, developing from pagan roots into an occasion that has come to be synonymous with workers’ rights, class action, and trade unionism.

 Source: newbt.org

International Workers’ Day originated in the struggle for improved workers’ rights in the late 19th century, particularly in the US. This was a period when industrial workers were made to work long days, up to 16 hours, in dangerous conditions. Working conditions were severe, death and injury were common at many workplaces. Socialist organisations sprung up around the world to campaign for improved rights and to challenge the dominance of the wealthy in the politics. During 1860’s, the working class people agitated to reduce the number of hours (workday) without a cut in their wages, but it wasn’t untill the late 1880’s that organised labour was able to gather enough strength to declare the eight-hour working day. This proclamation was done without the consent of employers, yet demanded by many of the working class.

In an attempt to end these inhumane conditions, the Federation of Organised Trades and Labor Unions (FOTLU, which would later become the American Federation of Labor, or AFL) held a convention in Chicago in 1884. The FOTLU proclaimed “eight hours shall constitute a legal day’s labour from and after May 1, 1886″.

The following year, the Knights of Labor – then America’s largest labour organisation – backed the proclamation as both groups encouraged workers to strike and demonstrate.

On May 1, 1886, more than 3,00,000 workers (40,000 in Chicago alone) from 13,000 business walked out of their jobs across the country. In the following days, more workers joined and the number of strikers grew to almost 1,00,000.  Since then, it has been memorialised globally as International Workers’ Day or May Day, to commemorate the Chicago Affair and similar reforms for labourers around the world. It is associated with protests and demonstrations over social, political and economic issues.

Sources: Sbs.com
Labour Day means many things to us. For most, it means a day off from work. It is one of those holidays that you reap the benefits from but not many actually know the true significance of. International Workers Day or Labour Day is a global celebration of the working class people, the labourers, and the tradesmen whose efforts form the very foundation of our social and economic progress

If you observe carefully, we all are labourers in one way or the other. Let’s take a moment to appreciate all the worker’s of the world.

The post May Day: What is May Day and Why It Is Celebrated appeared first on FWD Life | The Premium Lifestyle Magazine |.

Text credits: Lakshmi Priya

With tears, stress, and trauma, most of us have battled with our pain of losing someone close to heart. Confronting the death of someone who had seen the best and worst and stood with us during the good and bad is one of the most challenging situations. But Anjali Pinto, Chicago based photographer and a widow is facing this challenge of losing her husband Jacob Johnson with more power and strength. She breaks the taboo on grief and heals her pain through her Instagram account by documenting the photographs of Jacob and her life after his death and sharing them with her 51,300 followers.

Anjali’s journey of healing began on January 1, 2017, a day after she lost her husband due to an undiagnosed heart condition. Amidst the heart-throbbing pain, Anjali captured a photo of her holding the hands of her husband who was laying in the hospital bed. She posted it on her Instagram account with details of the funeral.

Jacob is no longer with me, with all of us who love and admire him. The shock, pain and grief are immeasurable, but thank you to all who have reached out. We will be having a gathering tomorrow at The Ivy Room, 3pm-6pm and his funeral will be Saturday in Onawa, Iowa where he was raised.

A post shared by Anjali Pinto – Photographer (@anjalipinto) on Jan 1, 2017 at 5:16pm PST

From then on, Anjali’s Instagram account started flooding with his photographs and memories they made together. Four years of knowing each other and one and a half years of being married, the photographs are not only about the memories they lived but also the spellbinding love and intimacy they shared. Anjali’s heart-breaking descriptions under each photo, about the endless love they shared, definitely leaves many in tears.

We would often travel near our birthdays, born 3 years and 3 days apart. 2013 New York, 2014 Mexico, 2015 Austin, 2016 New Zealand, 2017 to be India. I remember so vividly our side trip from Isla Mujeres to see the ruins in Tulum and the Gran Cenote. We were so very happy, in crystal water and warm sun. When other people were taking pictures of the beauty of nature itself, my camera was so focused on him. I was in wonder of this man, so sure of himself, so comfortable in every setting & so easy to please. How did I snag someone this beautiful? He's perfect for me. Last night I dreamt he came home from work, carrying packages from the front hallway as he often did. He had a big smile on his face, I thought maybe he was carrying a present for me. I had told him not to get me anything. The sight of him startled me awake, shot me out of slumber. I saw what he was wearing and the way he looked at me, but I didn't get to hug him. Lying there, mad at myself for not continuing the dream, desperate to look at him again, I remember today is my birthday and it is the first I'll have to spend without him.

A post shared by Anjali Pinto – Photographer (@anjalipinto) on Jan 19, 2017 at 9:41am PST

The trips they made, the family meets they attended, the restaurants they visited, even the warm hugs and kisses are beautifully captured.

I never got to thank him for how much he adored my physical person. He never once made anything but positive remarks about my body and my size. A week before he died, I was venting to him over text about how I had gained back 6 of the 18 pounds I had worked all year to lose. "There, there boo. I love you," he wrote. It seems wild to think that I was convinced that losing weight would make my life better. I was the happiest. One's health is not measured by physical fitness or outward appearance, or he would be alive today. When we had our wellness visit in preparation for purchasing life insurance, I was embarrassed that I weighed 20 pounds more than him on the same scale. All the love and respect he showed me has a permanent place in my mind. I may never feel more beautiful than the way he saw me, but remembering his gaze and his love has drastically improved my self worth. It's skewed my perception to reality – you are beautiful. (We all are). Photo by @vnina

A post shared by Anjali Pinto – Photographer (@anjalipinto) on Jun 29, 2017 at 2:57pm PDT

This trip was our dream. Me, to share a place I had visited and loved, and for Jacob to hold on to the nostalgia of the kombi van. We camped at night, in awe of the vastness of the sky. We spent 22 days together non-stop and smiled the whole time. We waited months for this honeymoon, so that the bliss of the wedding could really sink in, and then the rush of euphoria could return on the trip. And it did, every day was a new place and new adventure. He is my compass and my navigator. Photo by @hellopoe

A post shared by Anjali Pinto – Photographer (@anjalipinto) on Jan 2, 2017 at 10:36pm PST

The friendship of Anjali and Jacob began through Instagram.  After four years of friendship and love, they tied the knot to each other. Jacob was an expert hammock-napper, Snapchat star and meticulous NPR storyteller.  Anjali recalls the good memories of her wedding day and suddenly feels the pain thinking how everything will be fine without him.

I am keeping myself so together, feeling sure of the two feet I stand on when I turn out of bed each morning. Then a song plays and I'm transported, and begin to feel the unraveling. How can everything be okay without him? Last night I found myself swaying, remembering so vividly a moment from our wedding. Everyone was on the dance floor, but the venue needed us out. Music stopped and everyone turned to Michael and chanted "ONE MORE SONG, one more song." Heart of Gold by Charles Bradley came on, Jacob put his arms firmly around me and we kissed through huge smiles. Trumpets sounded as our feet shuffled. We were the last people to leave, we stopped to thank every person working and assured them that everything was exactly how we had dreamed. We turned back to look at the empty space, in disbelief of how life could be so good to us.

A post shared by Anjali Pinto – Photographer (@anjalipinto) on Mar 10, 2017 at 11:50am PST

Grief is different for everyone. Some people cry, some deny the fact that the person is no more and some even slowly push themselves into a stage of depression. Like every other person, Anjali has her own break-down moments. Still, at the end of the day, she puts back the bits and pieces of the strength left in her to inspire the world out there. By letting the world know the kindness and love of Jacob, Anjali is doing her best for her husband. She proves the fact that love does not die along with the person whom we love, but instead, it grows.

Grief is very much a taboo in our culture. As much as we want to help people that are hurting, we are never taught what to say or do to help. We avoid the conversation all together, or talk about something that makes us more comfortable. People have said to me, meaning to be supportive, remarks that are so upsetting it's mind boggling. "I know what it's like to be lonely, well not as lonely as you," or "I'm so happy for you," or "If I were you I would just want to go back to my routine," I have no desire to be critical of people, it brings me no pleasure. I want to be thankful, that I am alive, that I am supported. I want to take what they meant to say instead of what I heard, which is "you're in my thoughts." For each of the really dark days I've encountered since Jacob died, I have had a mechanism to cope. Friends, traveling, my family, his family, great books, massages, nature. If you have a friend or a loved one going through a loss, do not assume what they are feeling. Do not tell them everything will be okay. Do not tell them what you would have done if you were in their situation. Just listen. Be patient. Be compassionate. Be flexible. Show up. Tell them something that you loved or admired about the person that's gone. If you never met them, say you wish you had. Acknowledge their loss. Thank you to each and every one of you who has shown up.

A post shared by Anjali Pinto – Photographer (@anjalipinto) on Mar 16, 2017 at 12:01pm PDT

The post A Widow Heals The Pain Of Her Lost Love Through His Photographs appeared first on FWD Life | The Premium Lifestyle Magazine |.