May

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Fifth month in the Julian and Gregorian calendars

title: "May" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["may", "months"] description: "Fifth month in the Julian and Gregorian calendars" topic_path: "general/may" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Fifth month in the Julian and Gregorian calendars ::

::callout[type=note] the month ::

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 maiores, Latin for "elders", and that the following month (June) is named for the iuniores, or "young people" (Fasti VI.88). ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Podophyllum_peltatum_Shenks_Ferry_2.jpg" caption="May apples blooming. Common name given due to the plant's tendency to bloom in the month of May." alt=""] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Lady_of_the_Rosary_altar,_Inner_City_Parish_Church,_2016_Budapest.jpg" caption="Special devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary take place in May"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/05_May_-Percent_of_global_area_at_temperature_records-Global_warming-_NOAA.svg" caption="publisher=National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) }} Link is an example for one month; for other months, change the "202501" in the preceding URL to '''yyyymm''', where '''yyyy''' is the four-digit year and '''mm''' is the two-digit month (01=January through 12=December)"] ::

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.

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

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Hooker_emerald.jpg" caption="work=shgresources.com}} 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." alt="Emerald brooch"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Lily_of_the_valley.jpg" caption="The [[Lily of the Valley"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/Crataegus-monogyna.JPG" caption="''[[Crataegus monogyna]]''" alt="Crataegus monogyna"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Trailing_arbutus.jpg" caption="url-status=live }}. Signs in UT/GMT for 1950–2030." alt="Mayflowers"] ::

Observances

Month-long

United States

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/Mental_Health_Awareness_Month.jpg" caption="The green ribbon is the international symbol of mental health awareness."] ::

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.)

Movable, 2019

Western Christian

**Sunday after Divine Mercy Sunday: May 5 **

Eastern Christian

Wednesday after Pascha: May 1

Movable civic

Last Friday in April to the first Sunday in May

First Thursday

First Saturday

First Sunday

First full week

Tuesday of First full week
Wednesday of first full week

Second week in May

First Tuesday

Friday preceding Second Sunday in May

Saturday closest to May 10

Second Saturday

Second Weekend

Second Sunday

Week of [[May 12]]

Third Weekend, including Friday

Third Friday

Third Saturday

Third Sunday

Monday on or before May 24

Third Monday

Monday on or before May 25

Last Monday preceding May 25

May 24, or the nearest weekday if May 24 falls on a weekend

Saturday closest to May 30

Last Weekend

Last Sunday

Last Monday

Last Wednesday

Last Thursday

Fixed

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Les_Très_Riches_Heures_du_duc_de_Berry_mai.jpg" caption="May, from the ''[[Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry]]''"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/Mai_Leandro_Bassano.jpg" caption="''May'', [[Leandro Bassano"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/Rosa_chinensis.jpg" caption="[[Rosa chinensis]], the flower symbol of May"] ::

References

References

  1. "Mean Monthly Temperature Records Across the Globe". National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
  2. "U101 College Search". shgresources.com.
  3. 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.
  4. "Astrology Calendar".
  5. "May is Better Hearing & Speech Month". asha.org.
  6. Christie, Erin. (2025-04-29). "Borderline Personality Disorder Awareness Month: Breaking the Stigma".
  7. "Borderline Personality Disorder Awareness Month {{!}} Psychology Today".
  8. FT, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS. (2023-05-11). "BPD Awareness Month Blog - Andrew's Lived Experience {{!}} News and Events".
  9. "Raise CF Awareness". cff.org.
  10. "What Can I Do for May Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Awareness Month?".
  11. "May is Garden for Wildlife Month". nwf.org.
  12. "Raising awareness of Huntington's Disease".
  13. "International Mediterranean Diet Month". oldwayspt.org.
  14. Cactuslab. "NZ Music Month 2015 — Official Site". nzmusicmonth.co.nz.
  15. "National Pet Month – promoting responsible pet ownership across the UK". nationalpetmonth.org.uk.
  16. "Skin Cancer Awareness Month Reminder". skincancer.org.
  17. "World Trade Month".
  18. Frank Ranieri. "Miles for Hope is now Brain Tumor Alliance". milesforhope.org.
  19. "Hamburgers and Purifiers for All | we really do eat massive hamburgers!".
  20. "Denver's Best Burgers – Celebrate National Burger Month with the Mile High City's 25 tastiest beef-and-bun combos.".
  21. "Community Action Awareness Month". nd.gov.
  22. "Electrical Safety Foundation International". esfi.org.
  23. "National Foster Care Month 2015: Building Blocks Toward Permanent Families". childwelfare.gov.
  24. "National Golf Month at Mipins". nationalgolfmonth.com.
  25. (2 April 2021). "May is Hepatitis Awareness Month". cdc.gov.
  26. "NATIONAL MILITARY APPRECIATION MONTH 2005". nmam.org.
  27. McGuire, Holly. (2010). "Chase's 2010 Calendar of Events". McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
  28. "National Osteoporosis Foundation". nof.org.
  29. "Stroke Awareness Resource Center". Stroke.org.
  30. "National Water Safety Month". nationalwatersafetymonth.org.
  31. (May 2016)
  32. "National Small Business Week Virtual Summit".
  33. US Department of Commerce, NOAA. "Social Media: Hurricane Preparedness Week, May 5-11, 2019".
  34. "New Zealand Sign Language Week".
  35. "green office week".
  36. "Walk Safely to School Day, 2020".
  37. "EMS Week".
  38. "2019 Greater Victoria Bike to Work Week".
  39. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Endangered Species Day". fws.gov.
  40. (4 February 2024). "NATIONAL PIZZA PARTY DAY – Third Friday in May". [[National Day Calendar]].
  41. "Маевки". homofestivus.ru.
  42. (1869-05-10). "Ceremony at "Wedding of the Rails," May 10, 1869 at Promontory Point, Utah".
  43. (10 February 2018). "IDAHOT Forum 2018 - Lisboa {{!}} From global to local politics: Equality everywhere, for everyone".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

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