May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days.
May is a month of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore, May in the Southern Hemisphere is the seasonal equivalent of November in the Northern Hemisphere and vice versa. Late May typically marks the start of the summer vacation season in the United States (Memorial Day) and Canada (Victoria Day) that ends on Labor Day, the first Monday of September.
May (in Latin, Maius) was named for the Greek goddess Maia, who was identified with the Roman era goddess of fertility, Bona Dea, whose festival was held in May. Conversely, the Roman poet Ovid provides a second etymology, in which he says that the month of May is named for the , Latin for "elders", and that the following month (June) is named for the , or "young people" (Fasti VI.88).
Eta Aquariids meteor shower appears in May. It is visible from about April 23 to about May 20 each year with peak activity on or around May 6. The Arietids shower from May 22 to July 2, and peaks on June 7. The Virginids also shower at various dates in May.
Ancient Roman observances Under the calendar of ancient Rome, the festival of Bona Dea fell on May 1, Argei fell on May 14 or May 15, Agonalia fell on May 21, and Ambarvalia on May 29. Floralia was held April 27 during the Republican era, or April 28 on the Julian calendar, and lasted until May 3. Lemuria fell on 9,11, and 13 May under the Julian calendar. The College of Aesculapius and Hygia celebrated two festivals of Rosalia, one on May 11 and one on May 22. Rosalia was also celebrated at Pergamon on May 24–26. A military Rosalia festival, Rosaliae signorum, also occurred on May 31. Ludi Fabarici was celebrated May 29 – June 1. Mercury would receive a sacrifice on the Ides of May (May 15). Tubilustrium took place on May 23 as well as in March. These dates do not correspond to the modern Gregorian calendar.
Symbols May's birthstone is the emerald, which is emblematic of love and success. Birth flowers are the Lily of the Valley and Crataegus monogyna. Both are native throughout the cool temperate Northern Hemisphere in Asia, Europe, and in the southern Appalachian Mountains in the United States, but have been naturalized throughout the temperate climatic world.
The "Mayflower" Epigaea repens is a North American harbinger of May, and the floral emblem of both Nova Scotia and Massachusetts. Its native range extends from Newfoundland south to Florida, west to Kentucky in the southern range, and to Northwest Territories in the north. The zodiac signs are Taurus (until May 20) and Gemini (May 21 onward).The Earth passed the junction of the signs at 13:49 UT/GMT May 20, 2020, and will pass it again at 19:37 UT/GMT May 20, 2021.. Signs in UT/GMT for 1950–2030.
Observances
Month-long Working class history month Better Hearing and Speech Month In Catholic tradition, May is the Month of the Blessed Virgin Mary. See May devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary Flores de Mayo (Philippines) Borderline personality disorder awareness month Celiac Awareness Month Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month Ehlers–Danlos Syndrome Awareness month Garden for Wildlife month Huntington's Disease Awareness Month (International) International Mediterranean Diet Month Kaamatan harvest festival (Labuan, Sabah) New Zealand Music Month (New Zealand) National Pet Month (United Kingdom) National Smile Month (United Kingdom) Season of Emancipation (April 14 to August 23) (Barbados) Skin Cancer Awareness Month South Asian Heritage Month (International) World Trade Month
United States
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month National ALS Awareness Month Bicycle Month National Brain Tumor Awareness Month National Burger Month Community Action Awareness Month (North Dakota) National Electrical Safety Month National Foster Care Month National Golf Month Jewish American Heritage Month Haitian Heritage Month Hepatitis Awareness Month Mental Health Awareness Month National Military Appreciation Month National Moving Month National Osteoporosis Month National Stroke Awareness Month National Water Safety Month Older Americans MonthGovTrack.us: Tracking the U.S. Congress
Non-Gregorian (All Baha'i, Islamic, and Jewish observances begin at the sundown prior to the date listed, and end at sundown of the date in question unless otherwise noted.) List of observances set by the Bahá'í calendar List of observances set by the Chinese calendar List of observances set by the Hebrew calendar List of observances set by the Islamic calendar List of observances set by the Solar Hijri calendar
Movable Phi Ta Khon (Dan Sai, Loei province, Isan, Thailand) Dates are selected by village mediums and can take place anywhere between March and July. National Small Business Week (United States): May 5–11 National Hurricane Preparedness Week (United States): May 5–11 New Zealand Sign Language Week: May 6–12 Green Office Week (Britain, United States): May 13–17 Walk Safely to School Day (Australia): May 17 Emergency Medical Services Week (United States): May 19–25 Bike to Work Week Victoria (May 27 – June 2)
Western Christian Special devotions to the Virgin Mary take place in May. See May devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Labour Day: May 1 International Workers' Day
Sunday after Divine Mercy Sunday: May 5 Jubilate Sunday Monday and Tuesday in the week following the third Sunday of Easter: May 6–7 Hocktide (England) Fourth Sunday after Easter: May 12 Cantate Sunday Good Shepherd Sunday Fourth Friday after Easter: May 17 Store Bededag (Denmark) Third Sunday of May: May 19 Feast of Our Lady of the Audience Sunday preceding the Rogation days: May 26 Rogation Sunday Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday preceding Feast of the Ascension: May 27–29 Minor Rogation days 39 days after Easter: May 30 Feast of the Ascension Father's Day (Germany) Festa della Sensa (Venice) Global Day of Prayer Sheep Festival (Cameroon)
Eastern Christian Wednesday after Pascha: May 1 Bright Wednesday Thursday after Pascha: May 2 Bright Thursday Friday after Pascha: May 3 Bright Friday Saturday after Pascha: May 4 Bright Saturday 8th day after Pascha: May 5 Thomas Sunday 2nd Tuesday of Pascha, or 2nd Monday of Pascha, depending on region: May 6 or May 7 Radonitsa (Russian Orthodox) 2nd Sunday following Pascha: May 12 Sunday of the Myrrhbearers 4th Sunday of Pascha: May 26 Sunday of the Paralytic Wednesday after the Sunday of the Paralytic: May 29 Mid-Pentecost
Movable civic Last Friday in April to the first Sunday in May National Arbour Week (Ontario, Canada)
First Thursday Arbour Day (Nova Scotia, Canada) National Day of Prayer (United States) National Day of Reason (United States)
First Saturday Kentucky Derby Free Comic Book Day Green Up Day (Vermont, United States) World Naked Gardening Day
First Sunday Mother's Day (Angola, Cape Verde, Hungary, Lithuania, Mozambique, Portugal, Spain) World Laughter Day Children's Day (South Korea)
First full week National Teacher Appreciation Week (United States) North American Occupational Safety and Health Week
Tuesday of First full week National Teacher Appreciation Day (United States)
Wednesday of first full week Occupational Safety and Health Professional Day
Second week in May National Stuttering Awareness Week (United States)
First Tuesday World Asthma Day
Friday preceding Second Sunday in May Military Spouse Day (United States) National Public Gardens Day (United States)
Saturday closest to May 10 National Train Day (United States)
Second Saturday International Migratory Bird Day (Canada, the United States, Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean) National Tree Planting Day (Mongolia) National Train Day
Second Weekend National Mills Weekend (United Kingdom) World Migratory Bird Day
Second Sunday National Nursing Home Week (United States) Children's Day (Spain) Father's Day (Romania) Mother's Day (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, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Suriname, Switzerland, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Zimbabwe) State Flag and State Emblem Day (Belarus) World Fair Trade Day
Week of May 12 National Nursing Week (United States)
Third Weekend, including Friday Sanja Matsuri (Tokyo, Japan)
Third Friday Arbour Day (Prince Edward Island, Canada) National Defense Transportation Day Endangered Species Day (United States) National Pizza Party Day (United States)
Third Saturday The Preakness Stakes is run, second jewel in the triple crown of horse racing. Armed Forces Day (United States) Culture Freedom Day Sanja Matsuri World Whisky Day
Third Sunday Commemoration Day of Fallen Soldiers Father's Day (Tonga) Feast of Our Lady of the Audience Sanja Matsuri (Tokyo, Japan)
Monday on or before May 24 Victoria Day (Scotland)
Third Monday Discovery Day (Cayman Islands)
Monday on or before May 25 National Patriots' Day (Quebec)
Last Monday preceding May 25 Victoria Day (Canada)
May 24, or the nearest weekday if May 24 falls on a weekend Bermuda Day (Bermuda)
Saturday closest to May 30 Armed Forces Day (Spain)
Last Weekend Kyiv Day (Kyiv)
Last Sunday Arbor Day (Venezuela) Children's Day (Hungary) Mother's Day (Algeria, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Mauritius, Morocco, Sweden, Tunisia) Turkmen Carpet Day (Turkmenistan)
Last Monday Heroes' Day (Turks and Caicos Islands) Memorial Day (United States), a public holiday, is on May 30, but observed on the last Monday in May. Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna Day (Fiji), removed as a national holiday in 2010.
Last Wednesday World Multiple Sclerosis Day
Last Thursday Take a Girl Child to Work Day (South Africa)
Fixed
April 29 to May 5 in Japan, which includes four different holidays, is called "Golden Week". Many workers have up to 10 days off. There is also 'May sickness', where new students or workers start to be tired of their new routine. (In Japan the school year and fiscal year start on April 1.) Mayovka, in the context of the late Russian Empire, was a picnic in the countryside or in a park in the early days of May, hence the name. Eventually, "mayovka" (specifically, "proletarian mayovka") came to mean an illegal celebration of May 1 by revolutionary public, typically presented as an innocent picnic. May 1 Armed Forces Day (Mauritania) Beltane (Ireland, Neopaganism) Constitution Day (Argentina) Lei Day (Hawaii, United States) May Day (International observance) May 2 Anniversary of the Dos de Mayo Uprising (Community of Madrid, Spain) Birth Anniversary of Third Druk Gyalpo (Bhutan) Flag Day (Poland) Indonesia National Education Day May 3 Constitution Day (Poland) Constitution Memorial Day (Japan) Roodmas Sun Day (International) World Press Freedom Day May 4 Anti-Bullying Day (United Nations) Bird Day (United States) Cassinga Day (Namibia) Death of Milan Rastislav Štefánik Day (Slovakia) Greenery Day (Japan) International Firefighters' Day May Fourth Movement commemorations: Literary Day (Taiwan) Youth Day (China) Remembrance Day for Martyrs and Disabled (Afghanistan) Remembrance of the Dead (Netherlands) Restoration of Independence day (Latvia) Star Wars Day (International observance) World Give Day Youth Day (Fiji) May 5 Children's Day (Japan, Korea) Cinco de Mayo Constitution Day (Kyrgyzstan) Coronation Day (Thailand)