<P> "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 . </P> <P> 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 . </P>

What is the theme of the story may day eve