May Holidays and Observations
May is named for Maia, Roman earth goddess. To the Anglo-Saxons, it was Thrimilce, meaning “three milks” or milkings, because cattle are well-fed on fresh green grass and can be milked three times a day.
Thu., 1. May Day aka Beltane is a Pagan cross-quarter holiday, occuring at the midway point between the spring equinox and the summer solstice. It’s a national holiday in Sweden, and celebrated in Europe and North America as the beginning of summer (being six weeks from the summer solstice, aka midsummer), with community festivals featuring flowers, a Maypole dance, and other folk customs that date back hundreds of years.
May Day was a customary day off for laborers in Europe and America, though not an official holiday. Now in much of the world, it is a labor holiday commemorating the events of 1886 in the US, when more than 300,000 workers went on strike on May 1 to press for the 8-hour workday, leading to a violent clash with police a few days later (May 4) at Haymarket Square in Chicago. It is often a public holiday on the first Monday in May, which is May 5 this year—except in the US, which celebrates Labor Day on the first Monday in September.
National Day of Prayer is an ecumenical observance in the US on the first Thursday in May, when people are asked to pray for the nation and its leaders.
National Day of Reason is an initiative of the American Humanist Association, “To celebrate reason as the guiding principle of our secular democracy.”
Sat., 3. World Press Freedom Day was adopted by the UN general assembly in 1993. This year’s theme is “Freedom of expression in the face of the AI revolution,” addressing the ways in which AI can help disseminate useful and beneficial information as well as harmful misinformation.
An indoor labyrinth at the Carondelet Center at St Catherine’s University, St. Paul, Minnesota.
World Labyrinth Day was started in 2009 by the Labyrinth Society to promote world peace and harmony by encouraging people around the world to “walk as one at 1” local time. Institutions that have labyrinths open them to the public for the occasion. Locations of labyrinths and related activities are available on the event website.
Mon., 5. Cinco de Mayo commemorates the defeat of an invading French army at the battle of Puebla in 1862. It is an official holiday in Puebla only, and may be more widely observed in the US than in Mexico, mainly as a celebration of Mexican culture in the US. Mexico’s Independence Day is Sept. 16.
On Children’s Day in South Korea, families visit zoos, museums and amusement parks, where special programs take place. Japan also celebrates Children’s Day today.
Thu., 8. WWII Victory in Europe Day, aka VE Day, marks when Gen. Charles de Gaulle announced the end of the war in France in 1945.
Fri., 9. Europe Day marks the anniversary of the Schuman Declaration in 1950, 75 years ago, which led to the forming of the European Union.
Liberation Day in the Channel Islands is the anniversary of the liberation of Guernsey & Jersey from German occupation in 1945.
Sat., 10. World Collage Day was started in 2018 by Kolaj Magazine to encourage people to get together and make collages.
Peregrine falcons on a city rooftop. Image courtesy World Migratory Bird Day.
World Migratory Bird Day, the second Sat. in May and Oct., promotes awareness and protection for migratory birds and their habitats. This year’s theme is “Shared Spaces: Creating bird-friendly cities and communities.” It’s organized around three major corridors: the Africa-Eurasia flyway, the East Asia-Australasia flyway, and the Americas flyways. Participating organizations host educational events, which may occur on different days. Look for local activities on the event website.
Sun., 11. Mother’s Day, a holiday with a complicated backstory, at least in the US, is observed on the second Sunday in May here and in many other countries. In Mexico, it’s always on May 10, regardless of what day that is. In Sweden and France, it’s on May 25 (see below).
Mon., 12. Vesak celebrates the Buddha’s birthday as well as his enlightenment and death. In South Korea, the day is marked with visits to Buddhist temples, where monks serve tea and snacks, and a big lantern parade in Seoul, usually on the Saturday before.
Sat., 17. Norwegian Constitution Day aka Syttende Mai. The constitution was adopted in 1814.
Armed Forces Day was established by Pres. Truman in 1950 to honor those currently serving in the military. It’s always the third Saturday in May.
Mon., 19. Victoria Day, which originally marked the birthday of Queen Victoria (May 24), is a Canadian holiday held on the third Monday in May to form a three-day weekend; it is seen by many as the start of summer, like Memorial Day in the US.
Tue., 20. World Bee Day was started by the Slovenian Beekeepers Association to promote protection of these essential pollinators, and is now recognized by the UN. The date was selected to honor the birthday of Slovenian beekeeper Anton Janša (1734–1773), who is considered to be the pioneer of modern beekeeping.
Sun., 25. Kiev Day celebrates Ukraine’s capital city.
Mother’s Day in Sweden and France. The French observance was started in a small village in 1906 to honor women who had a lot of children, because, as the (male) school teacher who proposed it pointed out, men got awards for valor or good conduct in their jobs, but mothers were given no recognition for the hard work of birthing and raising children. This was also influenced by countrywide concerns about declining birth rates at the time. The Swedish celebration, according to my very limited research, was started in 1920 for standard sentimental reasons, and pegged to the last Sunday in May because there are more flowers available then.
Mon., 26. Memorial Day was first called Decoration Day and proclaimed as a national observance in 1868 by the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of Union Veterans. Set to take place on May 30, it followed a practice that had been going on in different places around the country on various spring dates for the previous two years. It was thought that the late May date would ensure that there were plenty of flowers available in all 37 states. After WWI, the observance was expanded to honor all war veterans, but it wasn’t until 1971 that it became a national holiday, with the current name, set on the last Monday in May.
In December 2000, Congress passed and Pres. Clinton signed the National Moment of Remembrance Act, in an attempt to reclaim the original intent of the holiday by asking people to pause for a moment of silence at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day in honor of those who have died in service to the country.