Amazing Fun Facts About May You Will Love

Here, here… what do they say… “April Showers Bring May Flowers,” right?!?

Announcing the arrival of the fabulous month of May!  Yes! A month best known for the arrival of bountiful flowers, the start of the gardening season and so much more!

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May is the month of Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, and all sorts of other fun designated days of celebrations and events.

If you want to learn more about May, this blog post has got you covered. We’ll take a look at some amazing fun facts about May, including when the month was named after the Greek Goddess of Fertility, famous May birthdays and events!  I just ‘know’ you will enjoy the following May trivia.

Why is May Day so Special?

Why is May Day so special?  As reiterated above, the popular saying, “April showers bring May flowers,” quite literally brings flowers.  And with those flowers comes May Day, a holiday that most people have heard of but have no idea how it came to be such a celebratory event.

When is May Day?

May Day is celebrated on May 1st every year.  It marks the beginning of spring and the rebirth of nature.  History of the origination of this fun serendipity type of day is from ancient Polish pagan festivals.  May Day marked the celebration of the beginning of summer.

How did May Day start?

May Day is primarily celebrated in the Northern Hemisphere.  The Ancient Celts called it Beltaine, which is still celebrated today. Over the centuries, it evolved and took on a more secular nature in Europe, including the addition of maypole dances that the holiday is now associated with. 

The Mayday Pole Ritual

While we are all familiar with the tradition of planting seeds in the spring and watching them grow throughout the summer, the tradition of the Maypole has also survived.

Since the first days of farming, farmers and farmworkers would gather in the fields on May 1st to celebrate the coming of spring. They did this by dancing around a tall pole weaving in and out among each other. 

The pole is decorated using a mixture of brightly colored ribbons such as red, yellow, purple, blue, green and white so that the dance creates an attractive pattern. 

This tradition was born in Northern Europe and slowly spread across England, where today, May Day is celebrated as a holiday.   Many decorate the crown with leaves and freshly bloomed May flowers of all colors.

The ritual of the Maypole is a modern-day re-enactment of this ancient tradition, but it is more commonly associated with the May Day festivals that are held all over the world, including in the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

This dance is done in the hope of bringing fertility to the livestock, the land, and the people living off of it. But regardless of the historical meaning of May Day, kids and adults alike enjoy the festivities, and food the event brings each year!

Interesting Fun Facts About May

Who’s ready to find out some very interesting fun facts about May? How many do you already know?

• May comes from the Latin Maius, probably referring to the goddess Maia. She embodied the concept of growth, both in nature and in business. Others connect Maius with Maiores, the ancestors or “the greater ones.”
• Conversely, the Roman poet Ovid provides a second etymology, in which he says that the month of May is named for the maiores, Latin for “elders,” and that the following month (June) is named for the iuniores, or “young people”.
• In May, the ancient Romans celebrated Floralia, a festival for fertility. Floralia lasted from April 27 to May 3 and included theater plays, dancing, and banquets. The Romans sacrificed a pregnant sow to the earth goddess Terra for a fruitful harvest.
• May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars.
• It is the third of seven months to have a length of 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 Day is a public holiday, in some regions, usually celebrated on May 1st or the first Monday of May.  As discussed above, it is an ancient festival marking the first day of summer, and a current traditional spring holiday in many European cultures. Dances, singing, and cake are usually part of the festivities. 
• Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States to honor and mourn the U.S. military personnel who have died in the course of carrying out their duties. The holiday is observed on the last Monday of May. The holiday was observed on May 30 from 1868 to 1970.
• Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexican victory over the French during the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. Over time, it has evolved into a day of celebrating Mexican culture.
• May 2 is National Truffle Day – traditionally truffles are made with a chocolate ganache center and are coated in chocolate, icing, and cocoa powder. Nontraditionally (but still deliciously), they can be filled with marshmallow cream, liqueur, fruit, or caramel. To celebrate this day in style, invite your friends over to sample some chocolatey truffles.
• May 4 is Star Wars Day because the date, stated as “May the fourth” sounds like the well-known phrase from Star Wars, “May the force be with you.” The sentence first appears in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977). The characters say it to wish each other good luck. Two years after the movie was released, the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom congratulated their candidate, Margaret Thatcher, for being elected Prime Minister. On May 4, 1979, they published an ad in a newspaper saying, “May The Fourth Be With You, Maggie. Congratulations.” This might have been the beginning of May 4 as Star Wars Day.
• May 11 is National Eat What You Want Day – it is the perfect excuse (not that you need one) to treat yourself to something a little more decadent than you’d normally eat. Whether it’s pizza loaded with toppings, or a dense chocolate cake, enjoy some of your favorite foods today.
• May’s birthstone is the emerald which is emblematic of love and success.
• The May birth flowers are the Lily of the Valley and the 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 for the month of May are Taurus and Gemini.
• Eta Aquariids meteor shower appears in May. It is visible from about April 21 to about May 20 each year with peak activity on or around May 6. The Arietids shower from May 22 – July 2, and peaks on June 7. The Virginids also shower at various dates in May.

Mental Health Awareness Month

Each year millions of Americans face the reality of living with a mental illness. During May, NAMI (National Alliance of Mental Illness) joins the national movement to raise awareness about mental health. Each year we fight stigma, provide support, educate the public and advocate for policies that support people with mental illness and their families.

Help spread the word through awareness, support and advocacy activities. Share awareness information, images and graphics for #MHAM (Mental Health Awareness) throughout May.

Famous May Birthdays

Explore famous May birthdays to discover the famous people born the same month as you. On the May famous birthdays list you will find an assortment of:

• Astronauts
• Presidents
• A plethora of Actors
• Sports figures
• Folk heroes
• Famous authors . . .

The list literally goes on and on.

“April Showers bring… lots of Famous May Birthdays!

• May 1st – Judy Collins – Famous Broadway Singer & Actress
• May 1st – Tim McGraw – Award-winning Country Singer
• May 2nd – David Beckham – Famous British Soccer Player
• May 2nd – Bing Crosby – Comedian thru the 1970s
• May 2nd – Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson – WWE Wrestler/Actor
• May 3rd –  James Brown –  Composer/Musician 20th Century Pop
• May 4th – Audrey Hepburn – Legend Actress in American Cinema
• May 6th – George Clooney – Actor, ER (’94-’99)
• May 6th – Sigmond Freud – Founder of Psychoanalysis
• May 7th – Tchaikovsky – Famous Russian Composer
• May 8th – Don Rickles – Famous Comedian
• May 8th – Harry S. Truman – 33rd President of the United States
• May 10th – Fred Astaire – Famous Male Actor/Dancer
• May 11th – Irving Berlin –  Great Composer in American history
• May 12th – Florence Nightingale – Famous Professional Nurse
• May 13th – Joe Louis – Boxer
• May 14th – Mark Zuckerberg – Founder of Facebook
• May 15th – Emmit Smith – Former NFL Player for Dallas Cowboys
• May 16th – Liberace – British Pianist
• May 17th – Sugar Ray Leonard – Boxer
• May 18th – Tina Fey – Actress in ‘Saturday Night Live’
• May 19th – Malcolm X – Influential African Americans
• May 20th – Cher – American Pop Singer
• May 22nd – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – Novelist of ‘Sherlock Holmes’
• May 23rd – Joan Collins – American Actress
• May 24th – Tommy Chong – American Comedian of ‘Cheech & Chong’
• May 25th – Ralph Waldo Emerson – 19th century American Poet
• May 26th – John Wayne – An American ‘Icon’ for Hollywood Westerns
• May 27th – Henry Kissenger – Former Secretary of State
• May 28th – Gladys Knight – Famous Female African-American Singer
• May 29th – Bob Hope – Famous Comedian of All Time
• May 29th – President John F Kennedy – 35th USA President
• May 31st – Clint Eastwood – Award-Winning Hollywood Actor

Amazing May Quotes & Sayings

May quotes are always associated with flowers, colors, spring, happiness, positive vibes, and the luckiest time to experience the effect of favorable fortune.

And why it shouldn’t be? May is the month when spring is at its full bloom and you find youthful vigor and freshness in flowers.

 “Its May, open your eyes to the beauty of the world.”

Anonymous

 “Its May, It’s time to be happy again.”

Anonymous.

 “Hello May, do to our hearts, what you do to earth’s flowers.”

Anonymous

 “Hello May, please be awesome.”

Anonymous

 “You are as welcome as the flowers in May.”

Charles Macklin

“The world’s favorite season is Spring, all Things Seem Possible in May. Happy May!”

Anonymous

 “Your presence is like the first day of May into my coldest wintery life.”  

Anonymous

“Some days, you have to create your own sunshine, thankfully May isn’t among those days as it gives you natural sunshine.”

Anonymous

 “Bright May afternoons, mango trees in the garden, echoed with cuckoo calls.”

Meeta Ahluwalia

 “May 19th,2018- Love always win!!”

Charmaine J. Forde

 “Some folks are May and some are may not.”

Anonymous

 “May the April showers bring May flowers.”

Anonymous

 “Another May new buds and flowers shall bring: Ah! why has happiness no second Spring?”

Charlotte Smith

“With the coming of spring, I am calm again.”

Gustav Mahler

“The world’s favorite season is the spring. All things seem possible in May.”

Edwin Way Teale

 “Now every field is clothed with grass, and every tree with leaves; now the woods put forth their blossoms, and the year assumes its gay attire.”

Virgil

 “As full of spirit as the month of May, and as gorgeous as the sun in Midsummer.”

William Shakespeare

“What potent blood hath modest May.”

Ralph W. Emerson

“It was the month of May, the month when the foliage of herbs and trees is most freshly green, when buds ripened and blossoms appear in their fragrance and loveliness. And the month when lovers, subject to the same force which reawakens the plants, feel their hearts open again, recall past trysts and past vows, and moments of tenderness, and yearn for a renewal of the magical awareness which is love.”

Sir Thomas Malory

 “Hebe’s here, May is here! The air is fresh and sunny; And the miser-bees are busy Hoarding golden honey.”

Thomas Bailey Aldrich

“Ah! my heart is weary waiting, Waiting for the May: Waiting for the pleasant rambles Where the fragrant hawthorn brambles, Where the woodbine alternating, Scent the dewy way; Ah! my heart is weary, waiting, Waiting for the May.”

Denis Florence McCarthy

“Among the changing months, May stands confest the sweetest, and in fairest colors dressed.”

James Thomson

“I thought that spring must last forevermore; for I was young and loved, and it was May.”

Vera Brittain

“You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep spring from coming.”

Pablo Neruda

“Queer things happen in the garden in May. Little faces forgotten appear, and plants thought to be dead suddenly wave a green hand to confound you.”

W. E . Johns

“The beautiful spring came; and when Nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to revive also.”

Harriet Ann Jacobs

“Horticulturally, the month of May is opening night, Homecoming, and Graduation Day all rolled into one.”

Tam Mossman

“When April steps aside for May, like diamonds all the rain-drops glisten; fresh violets open every day: to some new bird each hour we listen.”

Lucy Larcom

 Wrap-Up & Final Words About May

May is a month of celebrations. It’s a month of new beginnings and a month of growth. It’s a month of good things happening and a month of fun too.

It’s the month of flowers, fruit, and sunshine. It’s a month of love and romance. It’s a month of joy and happiness.

In fact, May is a month of all the best things in the world. Truly, there are amazing fun facts about May to love!

I hope you enjoyed this article about May Birthdays, May Celebrations, May Trivia, May Quotes & Sayings.

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