by Diva Cally
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The
month of May was come, when every lusty heart beginneth
to blossom, and to bring forth fruit; for like as herbs and trees bring
forth fruit and flourish in May, in likewise every lusty heart
that is in any manner a lover, springeth and flourisheth in lusty
deeds. For it giveth unto all lovers courage, that lusty month of May.
- Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte d'Arthur, 1485
Whenever May comes
this poem comes to mind right away. We had to learn this and many other
poems when I was in High School. It is very fitting for the
month with all the new flowers and plants growing. What comes to mind
when you think of May? Is it flowers, Mother's Day, nice weather, or
something else?
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Featured Holiday - May Day
On May Day it was customary for the ancient Romans to march in a
procession to the grotto of Egena, where they carried out ceremonies
honoring the revival of vegetation and to assure abundant crops.
May Day, which was also called Beltane (Bright Fire) by the
Anglo-Saxons, was considered the first day of summer. May Day was
symbolic of a return to life, of the defeat of the hard winter, with
new hopes for good planting and rich harvests. Beltane was the time of
milk and honey, the primary time of pleasure, of blossoming and
blooming, of desire and satisfaction, so the cow and the bee were both
significant symbols for this celebration. The cow's miraculous ability
to create great amounts of milk and the bee's creation of honey, the
sweetest food on earth, were absolutely magical. After blessing the
cows with protective bonfire smoke, they were turned out to pasture.
Because of the abundance of grass, the milk was of finer quality, the
cows yielded much more abundantly, and had to be milked 3 times each
day. So it was in May that the Anglo-Saxons began making cheese.
Special May Day sacrifices were offered, even including human beings.
The people built great bonfires on hillsides, leaped over flames, or
drove cattle through them. Large oatcakes, called bannocks, were eaten
as part of the festivities. Traditionally a portion of the cake was
burned or marked with ashes. The unfortunate soul who received the
marked piece was sacrificed to the gods. More recently, the recipient
simply jumped over a small fire 3 times instead. It is said that the
custom of leaping over flames continued in some parts of Britain as
late as the 18th century--the height of their leaps was supposed to
forecast the height of crops.
While a German farmer's calendar of 1493 shows all other months of the
year illustrated by hard-working farm folk, May alone represents
leisure time with luxuriating lovers. A man attentively plays a lute
for a bathing woman. Beltane especially celebrated love, attraction,
courtship and mating--that yearly groundswell of desire we know as
"spring fever." Long before high school proms kings and queens,
villages elected a young, attractive couple to represent the King and
Queen of the May, also known as John Thomas and Lady Jane. Folks danced
around the May pole, the skyward symbol of life; they gathered flowers
and spent nights together under the stars in the forest.
Since ancient times, May 1 has been a day for outdoor festivals. The
English have observed May Day since medieval times. All classes of
people used to rise at dawn to go "A-maying." They would return laden
with flowers and branches of trees to decorate their homes. A May Queen
was crowned to reign over the games, dancing, and festivities. Flowers,
fruits and other sweets, and a May pole with streamers were featured.
Alfred Lord Tennyson referred to the custom in these words:
"For I'm to be Queen of the May, Mother,
I'm to be Queen of the May."
May Is:
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
Better Hearing and Speech Month
Better Sleep Month
Egg Month
Mental Health Awareness Month
Huntington's Disease Awareness Month
Neurofibromatosis Awareness Month
Older Americans Month
Physical Fitness & Sports Month
Teacher Appreciation Month
National Teacher Day
Trauma Awareness Month
Famous Historical moments in May
1 England releases the first 1st adhesive postage stamp. (1840)
1 The first wagon train 1841 1st wagon train leaves Independence, Mo
for California. (1841)
1 Buffalo Bill Cody's first Wild West Show. (1883)
1 The Empire State Building was dedicated. (1931)
1 Cereal food Cheerios hits store shelves. (1941)
1 Slugger Mickey Mantle hits his first homerun. (1951)
1 Mr. Potato Head is introduced. (1952)
2 Good Housekeeping Magazine first hits the news stands. (1885)
2 Lou Gehrig plays in his 2,130th game, a baseball record that will
last for 57 years until Cal Ripken come along. (1939)
3 Christopher Columbus discovers "St Iago". It is later renamed
Jamaica. (1494)
3 Joe DiMaggio makes his major-league debut with 3 hits for the NY
Yankees. (1936)
3 Martin Luther King Jr. makes his "I Have a Dream" speech. (1963)
3 Margaret Mitchell wins Pulitzer prize for Gone With the Wind. (1937)
4 Manhattan Island is sold! Indians agree to the deal in exchange for
$24 in cloth & buttons. (1626)
4 Phonograph is played for the first time at the Grand Opera House.
(1878)
4 Academy of Motion Pictures is founded. (1934)
4 Atlanta Penitentiary has a new resident after Al Capone is convict of
income tax evasion. (1932)
4 Soap operas Another World and As the World Turns premiere. (1964)
5 Mexican forces under Benito Juarez defeated French troops in the
Battle of Puebla. Today this battle is celebrated as Cinco de Mayo.
(1862)
5 North Bend, Ohio gets on the map. It's the site of the first US train
robbery. (1865)
5 The New York Stock Exchange crashes, causing the Great Panic of 1893.
(1893)
5 Alan Shepard rides the Freedom 7 to becomes 1st American in space.
(1961)
6 John Deere produces the first steel plow. (1833)
6 The Yale lock is patented. (1851)
6 The Paris Exposition opens with the just completed Eiffel Tower as
it's centerpiece. (1889)
6 The Dirigible Hindenburg explodes into flames at Lakehurst, NJ. (1937)
6 Chunnel linking England & France officially opens. (1994)
7 The first inaugural ball is held in honour of George Washington and
his wife . (1789)
7 George Eastman patents the Box Camera. (1888)
7 The World's largest pearl (6.4kg.) was discovered in the Philippines.
(1934)
7 Big band leader Glenn Miller records the song Chattanooga Choo Choo.
(1941)
7 Germany signs an unconditional surrender at Rhimes, France, ending
WWII in Europe. (1945)
7 The Beatles last album is released. Long and Winding Road. (1970)
8 The U.S. Post Office is established. (1794)
8 V-E Day, Germany signs unconditional surrender. (1945)
8 Mad Magazine hits the news stands. (1952)
8 The World Health Organization announces that Smallpox has been
eradicated worldwide. (1980)
9 The syrup for Coca Cola is invented by Atlanta Pharmacist John Styth
Permerton. (1886)
9 The lawnmower is patented. (1899)
9 Americans Richard Boyd and Floyd Bennett become the first to fly over
the North Pole. (1926)
9 The Birth control pill is approved by the FDA. (1960)
10 The first color pictures of Earth from space are sent back from
Apollo 10. (1969)
10 Nelson Mandela becomes South Africa's first black president. (1994)
11 Einstein's presents his Theory of General Relativity. (1916)
11 BF Goodrich manufactures the first tubeless tire. (1947)
11 Jay Forrester patents computer core memory. (1951)
12 The flush toilet is patented. (1792)
13 The Rolling Stones record the now infamous song Satisfaction. (1965)
13 The Beatles movie Let it Be premieres. (1970)
13 Mr. October, Reggie Jackson becomes the first major league
ballplayer to strike out 2,000 times. (1983)
14 A party of settlers led by John Smith establish the first permanent
English settlement in New World at Jamestown Virginia. (1607)
14 Vaseline petroleum jelly slides onto store shelves for the first
time. (1878)
14 The first U.S. space station, Skylab is launched. (1973)
14 The last episode of Seinfeld is aired. It's a sad day in May for
millions of Seinfeld followers. (1998)
15 Regular airmail service inaugurated (between New York, Philadelphia
& Washington DC) . (1918)
15 Nylon stockings hit the market for first time (1940)
15 The song If I had a Hammer by Peter, Paul, and Mary wins a Grammy.
(1963)
16 Charles Hires invents Root Beer. (1866)
17 The first Kentucky Derby is held at Churchill Downs. (1875)
18 Napoleon Bonaparte becomes Emperor of France. (1804)
19 Ringling Brothers circus premieres. (1884)
20 Hubble Space Telescope transmits photograph's from space. (1990)
21 The American Red Cross was formed. (1881)
22 Former Vice President Aaron Burr is tried and acquitted for treason.
(1807)
22 The Great Train Robbery. (1868)
22 First reported sighting of the Loch Ness Monster. (1933)
22 The debut of Mister Rogers Neighborhood. (1967)
23 Legendary bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde Barrow are shot to death in
a police ambush in Louisiana. (1934)
24 Nursery Rhyme Mary Had a Little Lamb was written by Mary Hale of
Boston. (1830)
25 Ford ceases production of the Model T. (1927)
25 The movie blockbuster Star Wars is released. (1978)
26 Michael Jackson marries Elvis Presley's daughter Lisa Marie Presley.
(1994)
27 Achsah Young is the first woman to be executed as a witch in
Massachusetts. (1647)
27 The pop-up toaster is patented. (1919)
27 German battleship Bismarck sunk by British navy. (1941)
28 President Franklin D. Roosevelt pushes a button that opens San
Fransisco's Golden Gate Bridge. (1937)
29 Famous Abraham Lincoln quote: "You can fool some of the people all
of the time, some of people some of time, but you can't fool all of the
people all of time." (1849)
29 Sir Edmund Hillary is on top of the world. He is the first person to
reach the summit of Mount Everest. (1953)
29 Bing Crosby sings the song White Christmas into the record books as
the biggest selling record. (1942)
30 The bra is invented. As we understand, it received a lot of support.
(1889)
31 The Trans-Alaska pipeline is completed. (1977)
Global Village Celebrations
1 Constitution Day in Marshall Islands
1 Convocation of the Consitutent Assembly of Latvia in Latvia
1 Labor Day in Algeria
1 Labor Day in Anguilla
1 Labor Day in Argentina
1 Labor Day in Aruba
1 Labor Day in Austria
1 Labor Day in Azerbaijan
1 Labor Day in Bangladesh
1 Labor Day in Barbados
1 Labor Day in Belarus
1 Labor Day in Belgium
1 Labor Day in Belize
1 Labor Day in Benin
1 Labor Day in Bolivia
1 Labor Day in Brazil
1 Labor Day in Bulgaria
1 Labor Day in Cambodia
1 Labor Day in Cameroon Republic
1 Labor Day in Cape Verde
1 Labor Day in Chile
1 Labor Day in China
1 Labor Day in Colombia
1 Labor Day in Costa Rica
1 Labor Day in Cuba
1 Labor Day in Djibouti
1 Labor Day in Dominican Republic
1 Labor Day in Egypt
1 Labor Day in France
1 Labor Day in French Polynesia
1 Labor Day in Ghana
1 Labor Day in Grenada
1 Labor Day in Guatemala
1 Labor Day in Guyana
1 Labor Day in Honduras
1 Labor Day in Hungary
1 Labor Day in Iceland
1 Labor Day in Iraq
1 Labor Day in Kazakhstan
1 Labor Day in Kenya
1 Labor Day in Kyrgystan
1 Labor Day in Laos
1 Labor Day in Latvia
1 Labor Day in Lebanon
1 Labor Day in Liechtenstein
1 Labor Day in Lithuania
1 Labor Day in Mauritania
1 Labor Day in Mexico
1 Labor Day in Moldova
1 Labor Day in Netherlands Antilles
1 Labor Day in Panama
1 Labor Day in Portugal
1 Labor Day in Romania
1 Labor Day in San Marino
1 Labor Day in Seychelles
1 Labor Day in Singapore
1 Labor Day in Slovakia
1 Labor Day in Slovenia
1 Labor Day in Tanzania
1 Labor Day in Uganda
1 Labor Day in Ukraine
1 Labor Day in Uruguay
1 Labor Day in Uzbekistan
1 Labor Day in Vanuatu
1 Labor Day in Venezuela
1 Labor Day in Vietnam
1 Labor Day in Yemen
1 Labor Day in Zambia
1 Law Day in United States
1 May Day in Croatia
1 May Day in Cyprus
1 May Day in Czech Republic
1 May Day in Dominica
1 May Day in Gibraltar
1 May Day in Greece
1 May Day in Italy
1 May Day in Luxembourg
1 May Day in Macedonia
1 May Day in Netherlands Antilles
1 May Day in Norway
1 May Day in Poland
1 May Day in Spain
1 May Day in Sri Lanka
1 May Day in Sweden
1 May Day/Vappu in Finland
1 Spring Day in Estonia
1 Workers Day in Angola
1 Workers Day in Malta
1 Workers Day in Namibia
1 Workers Day in South Africa
1 Workers Day in Zimbabwe
2 Birthday of HM the King in Lesotho
3 Bank Holiday in Scotland
3 Constitution Day in Poland
3 Constitution Memorial Day in Japan
3 Labor Day in Antigua and Barbuda
3 Labor Day in Malawi
3 Labor Day in Montserrat
3 Labor Day in St. Vincent & the Grenadines
3 May Day Bank Holiday in Ireland
3 May Day Bank Holiday in United Kingdom
4 Cassinga Day in Namibia
4 Holiday for a Nation in Japan
4 HRH the Crown Prince's Birthday in Tonga
4 Proclamation of Independence, Declaration of the Republic of Latvia
4 Remembrance Day for Martyrs and Disabled in Afghanistan
4 Youth Day in China
5 Battle of Puebla (Cinco De Mayo Day) in Mexico
5 Children's Day in Japan
5 Children's Day in Korea, South
5 Constitution Day in Kyrgystan
5 Coronation Day in Thailand
5 Indian Heritage Day in Guyana
5 Liberation Day in Netherlands
5 Victory Day in Ethiopia
6 Gergyovden (St. George's Day) in Bulgaria
6 Martyrs' Day in Lebanon
6 Martyrs' Day in Syria
8 Celebration of WWII Victory in Netherlands Antilles
8 Fete de la Victoire 1945 in France
8 Liberation Day in Czech Republic
8 Truman Day in United States
9 Liberation Day in Poland
9 Memorial Day of Victims of WWII in Latvia
9 Mother's Day in Belarus
9 Mother's Day in Finland
9 Mother's Day in Ukraine
9 Mother's Day in United States
9 Ploughing Ceremony in Thailand
9 Victory Day in Armenia
9 Victory Day in Belarus
9 Victory Day in Moldova
9 Victory Day in Russia
9 Victory Day in Tajikistan
9 Victory Day in Turkmenistan
9 Victory Day in Ukraine
9 Victory Day in USSR
9 Victory Day in Uzbekistan
10 Confederate Memorial Day in United States
10 Mother's Day in Guatemala
10 Mother's Day in Mexico
10 Proclamation of the Federated States of Micronesia
11 Minnesota Day in United States
13 Gospel Day in Tuvalu
14 Kamuzu Day in Malawi
15 Armed Forces Day in United States
15 Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Poland
15 Independence Day in Paraguay
15 Mother's Day in Western Samoa
17 Constitution Day in Nauru
17 Constitution Day in Norway
17 Discovery Day in Cayman Islands
17 Independence Day in Norway
18 Battle of Las Piedras in Uruguay
18 Constitution Day in Turkmenistan
18 Flag Day in Haiti
19 Ataturk Commemoration in Turkey
19 Ho Chi Minh's Birthday in Vietnam
19 Youth and Sports Day in Turkey
20 Mecklenburg Independence Day in United States
20 National Day in Cameroon Republic
20 Visakha Bucha Day in Thailand
21 Battle of Iquique (Navy Day?) in Chile
21 Sheep Festival in Cameroon Republic
22 Day of National Unity in Yemen
22 National Sovereignty Day in Haiti
22 Thanksgiving in Haiti
24 Bermuda Day in Bermuda
24 Commonwealth Day/Emancipation Day in Belize
24 Day of Slavic Heritage in Bulgaria
24 Education and Culture Day in Bulgaria
24 Liberation Day in Eritrea
24 St. Cyril & St. Methodius in Bulgaria
24 St. Cyrilus and St. Methodius Day in Macedonia
25 Africa Day in Chad
25 Africa Day in Mali
25 Africa Day in Mauritania
25 Africa Day in Namibia
25 Africa Day in Zambia
25 Africa Day in Zimbabwe
25 Anniversary of the Revolution of 1810 in Argentina
25 Escaldes-Engordany in Andorra
25 Independence Day in Jordan
25 Maryland Day in United States
25 May Revolution Anniversary in Sudan
25 OAU Day in Equatorial Guinea
26 Independence Day in Georgia
27 Memorial Day in Puerto Rico
28 Downfall of the Dergue in Ethiopia
28 Independence Day in Azerbaijan
28 Independence Day/1st Republic Day in Armenia
29 Kiev Days in Ukraine
30 Anguilla Day in Anguilla
30 Arrival Day in Trinidad and Tobago
30 Independence Day/Statehood Day in Croatia
31 Anniversary of the Royal Brunei Regiment in Brunei
31 Bank Holiday in United Kingdom
31 Jefferson Davis' Birthday in United States
31 Memorial Day in United States
31 Spring Bank Holiday in Gibraltar
31 Spring Bank Holiday in Northern Ireland
Is Your Birthday in May?
One of these famous or infamous people
may share your day.
Astrological Signs For May
Taurus:
April 20 - May 20
Gemini:
May 21 - June 20
May Birthstone
Emerald
May's Flower
Lily Of The Valley and Hawthorne
Famous May Birthdays
1 Scott M. Carpenter, 1925 (Astronaut)
Rita
Coolidge, 1945
Judy
Collins, 1939
Glenn
Ford, 1916
Tim
McGraw, 1967
Jack
Parr, 1918
Kate
Smith, 1909
2
Christine Baranski, 1952 (Actress)
Catherine
the Great (Russia), 1729
Bing
Crosby, 1904
Larry
Gatlin, 1948 (Musician)
Lesley
Gore, 1946
Engelbert
Humperdinck, 1936
Bianca
Jagger, 1945
Benjamin
Spock, 1903
3
Christopher Cross, 1951
Greg
Gumbel, 1946
Doug
Henning, 1947
Golda
Meir, 1898
Frankie
Valli, 1937
4 Heloise, 1919
Audrey
Hepburn, 1929
Randy
Travis, 1959
Pia
Zadora, 1956
5
Karl Marx, 1818
Tina
Yothers, 1973
Tammy
Wynette, 1942
6
Tony Blair, British Prime Minister
George
Clooney, 1961
Sigmund
Freud, 1856
Bob
Seger, 1945
Willie
Mays, 1931 (Baseball Hall of Famer)
Rudolph
Valentino, 1895
Orson
Welles, 1915
7
Anne Baxter, 1923
Johannes
Brahms, 1833
Gary
Cooper, 1901
Darren
McGavin, 1922
Eva
Peron, 1919
Peter
Ilyich Tchaikovsky, 1840
Johnny
Unitas, 1933
8 Melissa Gilbert, 1964
Rick
Nelson, 1940
Don
Rickles, 1926
Toni
Tennille, 1943
Harry
S. Truman, 1884
9
James Barrie, 1860 (Author of Peter Pan)
Candice
Bergen, 1946
James
L. Brooks, 1940
Tony
Gwynn, 1960
Billy
Joel, 1949
Mike
Wallace, 1918
10
Fred Astaire, 1899
Donovan,
1946
Pat
Summerall, 1930
Nancy
Walker, 1922
11
Doug McClure, 1935
Phil
Silvers, 1912
Irving
Berlin, 1888
12 Burt Bacharach, 1929
George
Carlin, 1937
Yogi
Berra, 1925
Emilio
Estevez, 1962
Katharine
Hepburn, 1907
Florence
Nightingale, 1820
13
Beatrice Arthur, 1926
Rev.
Jim Jones, 1931 (Jonestown Massacre)
Harvey
Keitel, 1939
Dennis
Rodman, 1961
Ritchie
Valens, 1941
Stevie
Wonder, 1950
14
George Lucas, 1944 (Film Director)
Bobby
Darin, 1936
15
Pierre Curie, 1859
Eddy
Arnold, 1918
16
Pierce Brosnan, 1953 (Actor)
Henry
Fonda, 1905
Janet
Jackson, 1966 (Singer)
Olga
Korbut, 1955
Liberace,
1919
Billy
Martin, 1928 (Baseball player and manager)
Rosie
Perez, 1963 (Actress)
Tori
Spelling, 1973 (Actress)
Debra
Winger, 1955
17 Dennis Hopper, 1936 (Actor)
Sugar
Ray Leonard, 1956
Bob
Saget, 1956
Maureen
O'Sullivan, 1911
Ayatollah
Khomeini, 1902
18
Frank Capra, 1897 (Film Director)
Reggie
Jackson, 1946
Pernell
Roberts, 1930
Pope
John Paul II, 1920
Perry
Como, 1912
19
Ho Chi Minh, 1890
Malcolm
X, 1925
Peter
Townsend, 1945 (Musician)
20 Cher, 1946
Joe
Cocker, 1944
George
Gobel, 1919
Socrates,
466BC (Philosopher)
Jimmy
Stewart, 1908
21
Mr. T, 1952
Peggy
Cass, 1924
Dennis
Day, 1917
Harold
Robbins, 1916
22
Richard Benjamin, 1938
Naomi
Campbell, 1970
Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle, 1859
Sir
Lawrence Olivier, 1907 (Actor)
Bernard
Shaw, 1940
Richard
Wagner, 1813 (Composer)
23 Rosemary Clooney, 1928 (Singer)
Joan
Collins, 1933 (Actress)
Drew
Carey, 1958
Douglas
Fairbanks, Sr., 1883
24
Bob Dylan, 1944 (Singer, Songwriter)
Priscilla
Presley, 1945
Patti
LaBelle, 1944
25
Claude Akins, 1918
Miles
Davis, 1926 (Musician)
Ralph
W. Emerson, 1803
Mike
Myers, 1963
Beverly
Sills, 1929 (Singer)
Leslie
Uggams, 1943
26
Stevie Nicks, 1948 (Singer)
Hank
Williams, Jr., 1949
James
Arness, 1923
Peggy
Lee, 1920
John
Wayne, 1907
Robert
Morley, 1908
Al
Jolson, 1886
27
Todd Bridges, 1965
Louis
Gossett, Jr. 1936
Wild
Bill Hicock, 1837
Hubert
Horatio Humphrey, 1911
Henry
Kissinger, 1923
Christopher
Lee, 1922
Vincent
Price, 1911 (Actor)
28 Ian Fleming, 1908
Gladys
Knight, 1944
Jim
Thorpe, 1888 (Athlete)
29
Annette Bening, 1958
Melissa
Etheridge, 1961
Patrick
Henry, 1736
Bob
Hope, 1903
LaToya
Jackson, 1956
John
Fitzgerald Kennedy, 1917
30
Wynonna Judd, 1964
Benny
Goodman, 1909
Mel
Blanc, 1908
31
Don Ameche, 1908
Clint
Eastwood, 1930 (Actor)
Sharon
Gless, 1943 (Actress)
Joe
Namath, 1943 (Athlete)
Norman
Vincent Peale, 1898
Brooke
Shields, 1965 (Actress)
Lea
Thompson, 1961
Walt
Whitman, 1819
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