Do you sometimes feel the need to see your future? Do you want to see who will you end up your life with? Would you believe that on a certain month in a year, you may get to do it? But there's also a warning that people are telling the curious ones before doing it, what is it? You may get to see the DEVIL if you get unlucky while doing it. We will tackle the mysterious May Day belief.
May Day Eve; Revisited
May Day Eve is known to be an evening wherein you can perform supernatural activities and get the favorable results you wanted. It is also described as the perfect night to light a candle and look at your reflection in the mirror to catch a glimpse of your future partner. But if you want some thrill and you fear no one, then you can also do it to see the face of the devil. All you have to do is wait for the month of May and you will be able to perform the ritual. The eve of May 1 to be exact according to the legend. The term May Day Eve got more famous until Philippine National ArtistNick Joaquin used it as a title of a short story that depicts a the urban legend's tale.
"May Day Eve" is a short story written by Filipino National Artist Nick Joaquin. Written after World War II, it became one of Joaquin's “signature stories” that became a classic in Philippine literature in English. Together with Joaquin's other stories like The Mass of St. Sylvester, Doña Jeronima and Candido’s Apocalypse, May Day Eve utilized the theme of "magic realism" long before the genre was made a trend in Latin American novels. Published in 1947, it is a story originally intended for adult readers, but has later become a required and important reading material for Filipino students. - WikipediaThe Story
The major characters in May Day Eve are Badoy, Agueda, Anastasia, Agueda's daughter, and Badoy's Grandson. Agueda and Badoy have different personalities. Agueda was described to be a bold, liberated, and a non-conformist young woman who was “ahead of her time”. While Badoy was characterized in the beginning as a promiscuous young man who wanted to prove his machismo, he realized that he was “deliriously in love” with Agueda. As Don Badoy Montiya visited his old home at Intramuros, Manila, memories of his youth came back. He recalled how he fell in love with Agueda, a young woman who resisted his advances. Agueda learned that she would be able to know her future husband by reciting an incantation in front of a mirror. As she recited the words: “Mirror, mirror, show to me him whose woman I will be,” Agueda saw Badoy. Badoy and Agueda got married. However, Don Badoy learned from his grandson that he was described by Doña Agueda (through their daughter) as a "devil". In return, Don Badoy told his grandson that every time he looks at the mirror, he only sees a "witch" (Agueda). Don Badoy ponders on love that had dissipated. The truth was revealed, Badoy and Agueda had a “bitter marriage”, which began in the past, during one evening in the month of May in 1847. The tragedy of the story is Badoy’s heart forgot how he loved Agueda in the past. They were not able to mend their broken marriage because their love was a “raging passion and nothing more” - WikipediaOther Beliefs
Did you also know that May Day is actually regarded as a holiday? Some people in the world celebrate May 1 as Labor Day. Other countries are known to celebrate May 1 as May day. There's also a belief that it was celebrated as a New Year, because it divides the year in half even though it should be in June, right? It is also known that the first rain from the month of May is considered to be Holy Water that it could cure some illnesses. Aside from the popular belief that May Day eve can bring you to see the face of your future husband/wife or even the devil, there are some beliefs that during May Day eve that you should avoid looking to any mirrors especially at midnight, most especially if you don't have plans of seeing your future lover. A lot believed that they should avoid the mirror during that time because it is said that the DEVIL may just appear any moment during that time and you will experience the terror brought by the devil.