The month of May is a busy time.
In America, the month of May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month.
In many countries, the first of May is called May Day, and it is a national day for all workers.
The USA does not celebrate May Day because much of its population negatively associates the celebration with communism. Instead, they celebrate Labor Day on the first Monday of September.
In the UK, there is also a traditional Maypole dance on May Day. It is a celebration of spring.
Then there’s “May the 4th”, informally “Star Wars Day” among many younger people.
In North America, May 5th is the “Cinco de Mayo” (the 5th of May in Spanish), which started as a celebration of the 1862 Mexican victory against France in Puebla but is also an “excuse” for Americans in the USA to drink beer and eat tacos.
In the United States, May 6th is the National Day of Prayer. Although prayers can be in any religion, most people who celebrate this holiday are Christian: there is a National Day of Prayer organization that specifically “represents a Judeo-Christian expression of the national observance” (Source). No such organization exists for other religions. This holiday is controversial, due to the U.S. constitutional separation of church and state. In addition, there is a National Prayer Breakfast, and some members of the government meet with religious lobbyists on this day.
In the USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and other countries, the second Sunday of May is Mothers’ Day. Spain and France also tie this holiday to a Sunday in May – the first Sunday of May for Spain, and the last Sunday of May for France. In the UK, Mothers’ Day has already passed – it is the 4th Sunday of Lent (based on the Catholic calendar), in March or April.
The last Monday of May, in the USA, is Memorial Day – a day to remember the people who have died in war. It is common for families of military members to visit the cemetery to clean and decorate the graves of loved ones.
Also in May, many people are preparing for weddings – June is the most common month for weddings in the USA. More on that next month…