May Day – other names: Labor Day, Spring Day, Spring and Labor Day (in the Russian Federation), International Workers Day – is celebrated in 142 countries and territories of the world on the 1st of May, or on the first Monday of May.
1st of May has a peculiar history and meaning for counties all over the world. For centuries this day was celebrated as a spring-welcoming holiday, and different cultures had their own traditions and beliefs concerning it. Yet at the end of the 19th century, 1st of May acquired a new, global meaning, and became International Worker’s Day.
Table of contents:
1st of May: Holiday History
How is May 1st celebrated around the world
1st of May as Opportunity for Promotion
How to set up a discount in PrestaShop 1.7.5
1st of May: Holiday History
In the middle of the XIX century was signified with the overall industrialization and the growth of production. More and more people in industrialized countries (Europe, USA, Russia, etc.) left the village and moved to the city to work in the factories. Their working conditions were poor: 12-15 hours working day with small breaks for taking meals and no weekends – they worked Saturdays and Sundays as well. Workers were paid little for their heavy physical labor and lived in overcrowded housings that did not meet sanitary and hygienic requirements.
All this led to an exacerbation of the social situation. Workers began to unite in trade unions and organize strikes, demanding higher wages, an eight-hour working day and other changes to their working conditions.
On May 1, 1886, a peaceful demonstration of workers took place in Chicago (USA) demanding to establish an eight-hour working day. The meeting was met by brutality on the part of the police, who engaged fire on the crowd. A peaceful demonstration ended with destruction and fatalities, as a number of people died in the shootout and four anarchist workers executed on charges of organizing a terrorist attack.
In memory of these tragic events in the summer of 1889, the International Workers Congresses of Paris of the Second International declared May 1 the Day of Solidarity of Workers and suggested to celebrate it annually by holding demonstrations around the world. For the first time it was held on May 1st, 1890, in Belgium, France, Germany, USA, Denmark, Spain and some other countries.
How is May 1st celebrated around the world
Let us explore that does this day mean to nations around the world.
Sweden. The Day of White Flower – since 1908, on 1st of May the fund-raising events were held for helping people sick with tuberculosis, which is considered the workers’ disease.
Finland. In Finland, May Day (Vappu) is the student spring carnival. On this day, the youth that graduated from high school and passed the final exam, wear a special white cap – the symbol of belonging to the student community.
The United States. Americans traditionally hold Labour Day celebrations on the first Monday of September, and the efforts to shift it to May Day were fruitless. Currently, on the 1st of May, Americans celebrate minor holidays like Law Day, Children’s Health Day and Loyalty Day that do not have the status of a federal holiday.
Spain. For Spaniards, May 1st is a national Labour Day (Día del Trabajo) holiday. Apart from this, they celebrate Green Santiago, the feast of love and flowers.
Germany. Traditionally, May Day was a pagan festival of welcoming new spring and driving evil spirits away. Since the XX century, the Germans have started holding International Worker’s Day to express their solidarity to the working class nationwide and globally. Nowadays, May 1st is a public holiday in Germany, and the population celebrates whichever of the two holidays they want.
France. May 1st in this country is an official public holiday with mass worker demonstrations held nationwide. Apart from this, the French hold the festival of lilies of the valley and present each other these fragrant spring flowers. Lily of the valley is considered the main attribute of the French May Day; the flower is supposed to be dried and kept for a whole year, until the next holiday.
Canada. This country celebrates the nationwide labor day on the first Monday of September, like its closest neighbor the USA. Also, the native Canadian population traditionally celebrates on May 1 the Day of the Gopher.
China. Until recently, May 1 marked the beginning of a Golden Week – the nationwide whole week of holidays. “Golden Weeks” were introduced in China in 1999, but the May week was canceled in 2007, for it had adversely affected production and trade. Yet still, May 1 is a national holiday in May and a day off.
The Netherlands. For this country, May 1st is a part of the Tulip Festival, held on the last week of April and the first week of May.
Scandinavian countries. In these countries, the night of April 30 to May 1 is a Walpurgis Night. According to Danish and Swedish traditional beliefs, that night witches and demons gather that night with evil intent, and to scare them away, people burn fires, played musical instruments and danced. The very 1st of May is traditionally called in Scandinavian countries the Coockoo Day.
1st of May as Opportunity for Promotion
Although 1st of May traditionally does not present wide marketing possibilities, it does not mean that you should pass on a promotion opportunity. In case of this particular holiday, a full-bodied marketing campaign would be inappropriate (unless you work for Russian or CIS regions), but a small but sufficient discount or a coupon code would be just the right thing to leave a good impression and improve the customer retention levels.
PrestaShop ecommerce platform offers store owners diversified capabilities for setting up all sorts of promotions. In PrestaShop back office, you can create both simple discount rules or make them complicated, with a number of variables and conditions.
Below you will find a comprehensive discount configuration guide for PrestaShop 1.7.5 version.
How to set up a discount in PrestaShop 1.7.5
Follow the instruction below and learn how to create a holiday promo code in PrestaShop back office.
Step #1: log into the admin panel and navigate to Catalog -> Discounts.
Step #2: press Add new cart rule button in the upper right corner.
Step #3: configure the Information section.
Fill in the following fields:
- Name of the cart rule.
- Description – for internal use only, for it will be visible in the back office.
- Code – the combination of letters and numbers the customer should enter so that the voucher would apply. You can make it up yourself or autogenerate it.
- Highlight – whether the voucher will be displayed in the shopping cart summary.
- Partial use – you can allow or disallow the voucher to be applied if the shopping cart amount is bigger smaller than the discount sum.
- Priority – assign you cart rule the priority among the others.
- Status – set at “Yes” to enable the cart rule.
Press Save and Stay button in the lower right corner.
Step #4: configure the Conditions section.
Fill in the following fields:
- Limit to a single customer.
- Valid – the time range the rule will be valid.
- Minimum Amount – determine the minimum amount of a shopping cart to which the rule can apply.
- Total Available – the number of available applications of this cart rule.
- Total available for each user – how many times a single user can utilize the rule.
- Restrictions – choose to restrict the rule to Carrier, Customer group, or Products.
Press Save and Stay to proceed.
Step #5: configure the Actions section.
- Free shipping – enable or disable.
- Apply a discount – choose whether the discount will be a percent or a certain amount.
- Apply a discount to – Order or a Specific Product (enter the product name).
- Exclude discounted products.
- Send a free gift – if yes, specify the gift you will be sending.
Step #6: press Save in the lower right corner.
How to set up a discount for a PrestaShop product category
Apart from offering your customers a special May Day promo code, you can set up a discount for the whole category of products.
Step #1: navigate to Catalog -> Discounts -> Catalog Price Rules.
Step #2: press Add new catalog price rule button.
Step #3: complete the following catalog price rules configuration fields:
- Name of the rule.
- Currency to which the rule applies.
- Country of the rule application.
- Group of the customer the rule will apply – Customer, Guest or Visitor.
- From quantity – the minimum quantity from which the price rule activates.
- Price (tax excl.). Tick to Leave initial price.
- Reduction type – amount or percentage.
- Reduction with or without taxes – tax included or excluded.
- Reduction percentage.
Step #4: press Save button in the lower right corner.
The newly created rule will appear in the list of catalog price rules. However, if you wish to diversify the rule with the additional conditions, stay on the same configuration page.
Step #5: press the Add a new condition group button.
Step #6: add conditions to the catalog price rule.
The following field with the list of conditions will appear below. You can set up a category, brand, supplier, attributes and features and their values and create an individual condition group with them. Bear in mind that if a group consists of more than one condition, then the discount will apply only to the product that corresponds with all the condition values.
Step #7: press Save to keep changes.
The newly created rule will appear in the list of catalog price rules.
Wrapping it up
1st of May is a rather versatile holiday that has a different meaning to people of different nations and political views. Yet we hope you will not miss an opportunity to celebrate this day, for whatever occasion you find suitable.
If you have any questions or comments, please leave them down below.
Looking for quality PrestaShop modules? There is a rich variety of both free and paid PrestaShop extensions at BelVG PrestaShop store.
Partner With Us
Looking for a partner to grow your business? We are the right company to bring your webstore to success.
Talk to Vlad
