May

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).

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 girlfriends house in the night before May 1.
Cinco de Mayo or the Batalla de Puebla is celebrated in Mexico on May 5.
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.
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 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.
May 4th in the Netherlands is the day of Remembrance of the Dead, commemorating all the casualties in military conflict's involving the Netherlands.
May 5th is the Children's Day in Japan.
May 5th is Liberation Day in the Netherlands, celebrating the ending of the German occupation.
Each year in May, the Eurovision Song Contest is held
Finland's Day in Finland on the 12th of May
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.
May is the only month in which a President of the United States has not died.
May in the Northern Hemisphere is the seasonal equivalent to November in the Southern Hemisphere and vice versa.

Other names

In Finnish, the month is called toukokuu, meaning "month of sowing".
In Slovene, it is called veliki traven, which means the month of high grass.
In Czech, it is called květen, which means the month of blooms
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 Japanese, it is called Gogatsu or Satsuki, meaning "fifth month"
In Chinese, the "fifth month" is Wǔyuè.
In Korean, it is called "O-weol" meaning the month number five
In Croatian, it is called "svibanj", derived from the word svib meaning dogwood.

External links

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