E. Europeans vie for fanciest E-Day celebration

Lithuanians will light up the land, Hungarians will dump the past in one big heap, Estonians will plant a million trees and pious Poles are being asked not to touch a drop.

As the clock strikes midnight and ushers in May 1, such unorthodox celebrations will accompany the official pomp and ceremony across eastern and central Europe as the European Union expands across the former communist bloc.

The historic expansion is being hailed as a pinnacle of efforts to build lasting peace on the continent after centuries of war, but with it comes widespread anxiety about the economic impact, particularly for citizens of the current 15 members.

Reflecting that mood, celebrations will be low-key in most west European capitals except Dublin, host for the first summit of the enlarged Union of 25 members.

But in eastern Europe, the joy of finally overcoming the legacy of isolation behind the Iron Curtain has sparked an undeclared competition for the most original way to mark "E-Day".

In the former Soviet republic of Estonia, some 20,000 people will plant a million trees.

In fellow Baltic state Lithuania, citizens will switch on lights at their homes at the stroke of midnight to make the country glow on the satellite image of Europe.

Budapest mayor Gabor Demszky has called on Hungarians to enter the EU without the baggage of the past, inviting them to dump unwanted belongings at the city's central Deak Square.

At several border points in the Czech Republic, mist from water cannons and floodlights will create a rainbow linking "old" and "new" Europe, symbolising the end of the continent's division after World War Two.

In Poland, the biggest new member with nearly 40 million people, scouts in the central city of Lodz are busy sewing what they call the world's largest map of Europe, which will cover the city's main square.

The capital Warsaw, however, is bracing for riots as an expected 5,000 anti-globalists will try to disrupt a summit on enlargement organised by the World Economic Summit this week.

Many inhabitants will leave for summer homes after the authorities shut down schools and government offices in central Warsaw, making enlargement one of the longest holiday weekends in years.

Ten states are joining the EU on May 1 - Malta, Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia.

As in most of their capitals, there will also be official state-sponsored celebrations and private parties in Warsaw, but it will not be party mood only.

The Catholic Church, which has converted earlier euro-scepticism into euro-enthusiasm in recent years, has called on the faithful to fast on May Day to show solidarity with the poor.