May Holidays, Traditions and More

Ali Canary, Yahoo! Contributor Network
May 1, 2009 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."

May starts with a holiday, May Day, that is actually two completely different holidays with the same name, one being a rather giddy affair involving begarlanded youths dancing around a flower-strewn pole (which, let's face it, was obviously a pagan fertility rite), and the other is a Communist celebration of the worker that is more like Labor Day, except that it is celebrated with rather militaristic parades instead of barbecues and family reunions. To each his own! Speaking of barbecues (and, why not, military parades), May has the ever-popular Memorial Day, the unofficial beginning of summer, as well as Mother's Day. Could there be any more reasons to celebrate in May? Heck, yeah!

Monthly Observances

May is National Allergy / Asthma Awareness Month, although I believe I became aware of my allergies a little earlier this year, thanks. It is also the National Month for Arthritis, Barbecue, Bikes, Eggs, Foster Care, Good Car-Keeping (so keep your National Egg Month celebrations far away, please), Hamburgers, Hepatitis Awareness, Meditation, Mental Health, Military Appreciation, Moving, Osteoporosis Prevention, Physical Fitness and Sports, Physiotherapy, Preservation, Salad, Salsa, Smiles, Stroke Awareness, Revising Your Work Schedule, and Vinegar (good timing, with the salad and all, I must say). It's also National Photo Month, so make sure you take pictures of those nicely-kept cars and your favorite hamburgers.

May is also International Audit Month (eek!), as well as the International Month for Business Image Improvement, Victorious Women (yay!) and Lyme Disease Awareness, so if you are being audited and you point out the weird, bullseye-shaped rash on your auditor's leg, she will be treated in time to become victorious over her Lyme Disease and will certainly give you a pass on the audit out of gratitude, thereby improving your business image. Snaps for Lyme Disease Awareness!

Weirdest Holiday: I couldn't decide between National Two Different Colored Shoes Day (3^rd) and Slugs Return from Capistrano Day (28^th), although I am at no loss to determine which one would be easier to observe.

May Traditions

Flower: lily of the valley - humility, sweetness

Birthstone: emerald - tranquility, luck in love

Taurus's gem: emerald

Zodiac sign: Taurus (1-21) and Gemini (22-31; see June for details). Taurus the Bull is an earth sign, as stable and immovable as the ground under your feet. Also immovable is the bull, who has a reputation for stubbornness. On the good side, that translates into stick-to-it-iveness, loyalty, and reliability, but Taureans may have a hard time adapting to change or seeing other points of view. Best friends: Virgo and Capricorn. Best love matches: Pisces, Scorpio and Cancer.

Famous Birthdays: Bing Crosby (2^nd), Audrey Hepburn (4^th), Karl Marx (5^th), Willie Mays (6^th), Billy Joel (9^th), Yogi Berra (11^th), Stevie Wonder (13^th), Liberace (16^th), Pope John Paul II (18^th), Cher (20^th), Bob Dylan (24^th), Miles Davis (25^th), Vincent Price (27^th), Gladys Knight (28^th), John F. Kennedy (29^th), Clint Eastwood (31^st).