Global Holidays and Traditions - May 2023

April showers bring May flowers.?This popular saying can be traced back to England from the 1500s poet Thomas Tusser when he wrote “Sweet April showers do spring May Flowers.”??California has has plenty of rain this winter and is looking forward to some flowers!

May 1st?is May Day?and is a celebration of spring?and new life. Cake, dances, and singing are usually part of the global May Day festivities with some wonderful local traditions.??The May Pole usually plays some role in the festivities, originating in pagan celebrations of the midpoint between the vernal equinox and the summer solstice. May Day is also historically associated with?International Workers' Day?or?Labour (Labor) Day?in many of the communist countries around the world.??

One of my?favorite May 1st?celebration belongs to?Hawaii; where May Day is also known as?Lei Day?and islanders celebrate their culture. There are lei-making competitions and revelers hand out lei to their family and friends.??

Beltane, or Bealtaine is Gaelic for “Fires of Bel” or “Bright Fires.” The ceremony honors the god of the Sun and the rebirth of the earth. Feasting, games, and bonfires began on May Day Eve and continued through the next day with bonfires and merrymaking. Though primarily an Irish festival, other Celtic cultures celebrate similar festivals. Beltane marks the beginning of the pastoral summer season when livestock was traditionally let out into the pastures for grazing. Beltane developed into the May Day we know today!

Did you know that?May 4th?is Star Wars Day???One of my favorite days of the year, we celebrate Star Wars geekdom with our traditional greeting of May the Fourth be with You!?

May 5th?is Cinco de Mayo?-?the date is observed to commemorate the Mexican Army’s victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862.??More popularly celebrated in the United States than in Mexico,?the date has become associated with the celebration of Mexican culture and often confused with Mexican Independence Day (which is September 16th).??Still, it’s a wonderful excuse to pour a glass of Mezcal or good Tequila!

May 5th?is also?Kodomo-no-hi?(also known as Childrens Day) - one of the most popular holidays in Japan. Originally called?Tango no sekkuor Boy’s Day and celebrated boys. It was the counterpart to Hinamatsuri, or Girl’s Day, on March 3. But in 1948, the name changed to Children’s Day. Today, it celebrates all children, as well as mothers, fathers, and family unity.

Vesak?also falls on May 5th?this year! Vesak is a global celebration of Buddha’s birth, along with his enlightenment and death in some traditions. The holiday has been officially celebrated since 1950, when the World Fellowship of Buddhists formalized it as Buddha’s birthday. Vesak is a holiday common to all Buddhists but is celebrated differently according to local customs. Because Vesak is based on the Asian lunisolar calendar, the day usually falls on the full moon in the Gregorian month of May, but this varies widely according to each country’s traditions.

Victory in?Europe?Day (V-E Day or VE Day) is commemorated on?May 8th. It is a national?holiday?in France known as 'Victoire 1945' and the day is also celebrated as an important?holiday?in several other countries in?Europe.??We can only hope for peace once again in Europe as soon as possible.??

May 14th?is also?Mother’s Day?in many countries around the world, so don’t forget to spoil all the Moms and Mums out there, while honoring the Mothers who have left us.??

May 22nd?marks Victoria Day?in Canada?— the Monday before May 25 – and signifies the beginning of summer and the arrival of warmer, greener days. But much like Independence Day in the U.S., Victoria Day has more colonial roots than are usually discussed amidst all the fireworks and jolly gatherings. This day marks the birthday of Queen Victoria, who was the ruling monarch at the time of Canada’s birth as a country in 1867. It’s a day to celebrate all the wonderful things that make Canada, Canada.?Ha

Also on?May 22, the US honors the life and legacy of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay politician in California and a leader of the American Civil Rights Movement. Milk was not only an advocate for the LGBTQ community, but for all minorities. He believed in safe, strong neighborhoods and supported public education, affordable childcare, and equal rights for all, as do I.

Lastly,?May 22d?is also celebrated as?International Sherlock Holmes Day!??The date is also that of the birthday of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of the world’s greatest detective!??

May 18th?is Ascension Day?for Christians around the world. It is the day (always falling on a Thursday) when Christians celebrate the ascension of Jesus into heaven according to the Bible.??

Shavuot—or the Feast of Weeks—is a Jewish holiday, celebrated between?May 25–27?on the Gregorian calendar. The holiday has both an agricultural and biblical significance. Agriculturally, it marks the wheat harvest in Israel. Biblically, it commemorates the day God gave the nation of Israel the Torah on Mount Sinai. Shavuot also book ends the Counting of the Omer, a ritualized counting of each of the 49 days between Passover and Shavuot. The tradition represents the anticipation around God’s gift of the Torah.

May 29th?is Memorial Day?for many Americans, conjures up images of barbeques and summer.??But the last Monday in May is really about honoring those who died while fighting in the U.S. Armed Forces. It’s a holiday steeped in somber American history and tradition. The day actually began as “Decoration Day,” following the Civil War, when mourners placed flowers on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers.?

It's already May... I can't believe it