'May' is the
fifth month of the
year in the
Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31
days.
May begins (historically) with the sun in the sign of
Taurus and ends in the sign of
Gemini. Astronomically speaking, the sun begins in the constellation of
Aries and ends in the constellation of
Taurus.
The month may have been named for the
Greek goddess
Maia, who was identified with the Roman
goddess of fertility,
Bona Dea, whose festival was held in May. See:-
Months in various calendars
In
Japan, there is a so-called May sickness, where new students or workers start to be tired of their new schoolwork or jobs. (In Japan
schoolyears and
fiscal years start on April 1st).
May, from the ''Très riches heures du duc de Berry''
Events in May
★ In the
neopagan Wheel of the Year May begins on
Beltane in the northern hemisphere and
Samhain in the southern hemisphere.
★ In the
Irish calendar May 1 is
Beltane (Bealtaine), the first day of
Summer, and a public holiday is held on the first Monday in May.
★ In many countries,
May Day is
May 1. This is celebrated as
Labor Day in many countries.
★ In the
United Kingdom,
May Day is
May 1, but a public holiday is held on the first Monday in May.
★ In
Germany it is an old custom to plant a "
tree of May" to honor someone. Often young men set up an adorned
birch in front of their girlfriend's house in the night before May 1.
★ May 4th in
the Netherlands is the day of
Remembrance of the Dead, commemorating all the casualties in
military conflicts involving the Netherlands.
★
Cinco de Mayo or the
Batalla de Puebla is celebrated in
Mexico on
May 5.
★ May 5th is the Children's Day in Japan.
★ May 5th is Liberation Day in
the Netherlands, celebrating the ending of the
German occupation.
★ In Western Europe
May 8 is
VE Day. In Eastern Europe it is celebrated on
May 9.
★ In the
European Union May 9 is
Europe Day
★ On May 12,
International Nurses Day is celebrated.
★ Finland's Day in
Finland on the 12th of May.
★ May 12 is also International Awareness Day for Chronic Immunological and Neurological Diseases (CIND). These diseases include Neurofibromatosis, Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (
CFIDS)/
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis,
Fibromyalgia,
Gulf War Syndrome and
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.
★ On May 17, the
Norwegian Constitution Day is celebrated.
★ In
Chile, the
Battle of Iquique (Combate Naval de Iquique), is celebrated on
May 21, and its a national holiday.
★
Eritrea celebrates its Independence Day (Independence from Ethiopia) on May 24.
★ In
Argentina, the
May Revolution (or Revolución de Mayo), a national holiday, is on
May 25.
★
Towel Day is celebrated in May in tribute to
Douglas Adams, author of ''
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''.
★ Under the French
Ancien Régime, it was of habit to “plant a May” or a “tree of May” in the honor of somebody. The County of
Nice saw girls and boys “turn the May” with the sound of
fife and
drum, i.e. to dance
rounds of May around the tree of May planted on the place of the village.
★ The second Sunday in May is
Mother's Day in the
United States.
★ Each year in May, the
Eurovision Song Contest is held
★ The
Indianapolis 500 is held on the
Sunday before
Memorial Day
Monthlong events in May
★
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month - celebration of Asian and Pacific Islanders in the
United States.
★
Mental Health Awareness Month - raising awareness about
mental illness in the
United States.
★ May is traditionally devoted to the
Blessed Virgin Mary in
Roman Catholic traditions.
May crowning occurs in some locales at the beginning of the month.
★ In
New Zealand, May is the New Zealand Music Month.
Weeklong Events in May
3rd Week in May
★ The
League of American Bicyclists is promoting Bike-to-Work Week from May 15-19 and
Bike-to-Work Day on Friday,
May 19
May Moving Events
★
Eastern Christianity celebrates
Easter on a
Sunday between
April 4 and
May 8.
★ On the full moon of May,
Vesak is celebrated in many southeast Asian countries; it commemorates the birth, enlightenment, and death of
Siddhartha Gautama.
★ In
Canada,
Victoria Day is observed on the Monday on or before
May 24. In
Quebec, it is known as
Patriots Day.
First Saturday
★ In
Kentucky,
United States, the
Kentucky Derby
Second Sunday
★ Is
Mothers Day in
Anguilla,
Aruba,
Australia,
Austria,
Bahamas,
Barbados,
Bangladesh,
Belgium,
Belize,
Bermuda,
Bonaire,
Brazil,
Brunei,
Canada,
Chile,
Colombia,
Cuba,
Croatia,
Curaçao,
Czech Republic,
Denmark,
Ecuador,
Estonia,
Finland,
Germany,
Greece,
Grenada,
Honduras,
Hong Kong,
Iceland,
India,
Italy,
Jamaica,
Japan,
Latvia,
Malta,
Malaysia,
The Netherlands,
New Zealand,
Peru,
Philippines,
Puerto Rico,
Singapore,
Slovakia,
South Africa,
Suriname,
Switzerland,
Taiwan,
Trinidad and Tobago,
Turkey,
United States,
Uruguay,
Venezuela,
Zimbabwe.
First Friday
★
No Pants Day
Second Saturday
★
World Fair Trade Day is celebrated
Last Monday
★ In the
United States,
Memorial Day, a public holiday, is on
May 30, but observed on the last Monday in May.
Trivia
★ The bird of May is the
nightingale
★ May's birth flower is the
lily of the valley or
hawthorn.
★ May's
birthstone is the
emerald.
Other names
★ In
Chinese, the "fifth month" is ''Wǔyuè''.
★ In
Croatian, it is called "svibanj", derived from the word ''svib'' meaning
dogwood.
★ In
Czech, it is called ''květen'', which means the "month of blooms".
★ In
Finnish, the month is called ''toukokuu'', meaning "month of sowing".
★ In
Japanese, it is called ''Gogatsu'' or ''Satsuki'', meaning "fifth month"
★ In
Korean, it is called "O-weol" meaning the month "number five".
★ In
Slovene, it is called ''veliki traven'', which means the month of high
grass.
★ In
Spanish, the month is called ''mayo'', like English, influence from the Classical goddess
Maia.
★ In
Turkish, the month is called ''Mayıs'' meaning "Month of Maia", like English it is influenced by the Classical goddess
Maia.
★ In
Xhosa, May is known as ''ngekaCanzibe'', meaning "month of
Canopus". It is also the final month of the year by the traditional Xhosa calendar.
★ In
Dutch, May is called ''mei''
★ In
Swedish, May is called ''maj''
See also
★
Historical anniversaries
External links
★
★
★
kidscoop on Clean Air Month
★
Bike Month Website
★
M&N International Bright Idea Book(PDF)
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