is the Fifth Month of the Year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 Day s.
May begins (astrologically) 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 God dess Maia , who was identified with the Roman Goddess of fertility, Bona Dea , whose festival was held in May.
In the Old Japanese Calendar , the month is called ''Satsuki'' (皐月). It is also a common name for females. In Japan , there is the so-called May sickness, where new students or workers start to be tired of their new schoolwork or jobs. (In Japan Schoolyear s and Fiscal Year s start on April 1st).
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 the Pagan Wheel Of The Year May begins on Bealtaine 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 Western Europe May 8 is VE Day . In Eastern Europe it is celebrated in May 9.
- In the European Union May 9 is Europe Day
- In Argentina , the May Revolution (or Revolución de Mayo), a national holiday, is on May 25 .
- On 12 May, International Nurses Day is celebrated.
- Towel Day is celebrated in May in tribute to Douglas Adams , author of '' The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy ''.
- Cinco De Mayo or the Batalla De Puebla is celebrated in Mexico on May 5 .
- 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.
- Clean Air Month, created by the EPA and other health organizations
- National Bike Month
- Asian Pacific American Heritage Month - celebration of Asian and Pacific Islanders in the United States
- National Salsa Month, Mostly celebrated due to Cinco De Mayo
- National Barbecue Month, In 1982 when the industry figured it was time to acknowledge that this is the time when 'the season' typically began
- Older Americans Month, Aging to Celebrate Older Americans Month in May
1st Week in May
- In the American film industry, the first week of May-- that is, between the 2nd and the 8th-- marks the beginning of the summer movie season.
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
First Saturday
Second Sunday
First Friday
Second Saturday
Last Monday
- 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
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