Today May started , we still have holiday and Covid id still here but May also started with a new hive pud, working in the garden planting the plants I bought last Saturday and the qualification for the Grand Prix with Max Verstappen in Portimao in Portugal, with the 97th pole position for Lewis Hamilton, now while I am writing this.And I am pro max as you can understand. We are watching it in between garden work.
We are watching it in between garden work. We bought plant last week and because ofthe rain this is the best moment ofthe week to plant them. For the best place and to know will about the plants I am using an app called pictured this.
What about the mount of May ?
The month of May is a popular month for many people: lots of holidays and so many days off! T An overview and the origin of the holidays in May, such as May 1, Ascension Day and Pentecost. During the month of May there are also many customs, which sometimes go very far back in time. Just think of gifting clumps of May Bells, planting the maypole, the ice saints, celebrating communions, spring celebrations and Mother's Day.
I am also having another birthday but I still feel 21! Also I have to play a new selection game and join the hockey club and my team. The month of May will be a busy month for us aswell and last 11 weeks for the boys in school.
The month of May is the fifth month in the Gregorian calendar. The month of May has 31 days. A day seven is my day or getting life. The month is said to be named after the Greek goddess Maia. Other names for the month of May are the flowering month or the Mary month, and i agree totally.
In May the weather will finally get warmer. But for us as dutchies rain is also always in May. A French proverb says: "En avril, n'enlève pas un fil. En mai met ce qu'il te plaît". This means that people should not dress too lightly in April. In May you can wear whatever you want. Nevertheless, one must also take into account the ice saints in May. As long as they are not over, it can still freeze and be very cold. For the plants that is not a problem.
So what do we have ?
Today is May 1: Labor Day in many countries. In holland aswell. Most countries do not work on May 1, its saturday so that is correct. But normally exceptions for this holiday are with us in the Netherlands, the United States, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. There is no work on this day and, paradoxically, we just celebrate the Labor Day on this day. The origins of this holiday date back to 1884, and that is where the explanation for this paradox lies. On May 1 of that year, unions argued in Chicago for the eight-hour day. In 1889, May 1 is declared an official day to promote the eight-hour day. However, this will not come until 1919, so some 35 years later! In 1920, the Russian Bolcheviks decided that May 1 will be an official holiday for all workers, in memory of these years of struggle. In Russia and Belarus, special May 1 postcards are sent to each other on that day.
May 1: the donation of May Bells
They really herald the month of May: the May Bells. In the wild and in the gardens they have been at the top for a while, small bunches of them are sold in the shops on 1 May. Yet this tradition is preceded by a sad event. On May 1, 1891, workers walk the streets of Fourmies, a small town in the North of France. Suddenly, soldiers start firing at the crowd, killing a dozen people, including a worker dressed all in white and carrying flowers in her arms. She will be the symbol for May 1. Since then, protesters have been wearing a flower in their buttonhole on that day. And the flower par excellence that symbolizes the month of May is ... yes, the May bell! It goes much further in time that May clocks would be lucky charms. It is said that Charles IX received a bunch of May Bells as a good luck charm on May 1, 1561, and since then he decided to give them every year to the ladies of his court. Later this tradition passed on to the common people and now bunches of May Bells are still given as a present on 1 May.
May 4 : remembering the death from 1940-1945
May 5: El cinco de mayo is celebrated in Mexico. On this day the French once lost a battle against the Mexicans. This is celebrated with good food and family gatherings. It is a day off in Mexico.
May 5: Liberation Day in the Netherlands. A day on which the end of WWII is celebrated and on which the Dutch are allowed to stay at home every five years.
May 6: May 6 is Midwifery Day all over the world. So on this day the midwives are put in the spotlight.
May 7 : My birthday
May 8: In many countries (including France and the Czech Republic), the end of WWII is commemorated on May 8. In France this day is called Victoire. The French then have a day's leave. In Belgium people were also at home on this day for a long time. This was stopped in 1974, but votes are being raised to make May 8 a day off again.
May 9: European Day of Stroke: Recognizing the symptoms of a stroke can save someone else's life. To put those symptoms in the picture, European Stroke Day was created. because every second counts with a stroke. Some of the symptoms include: numbness or weakness in the arm, leg or face, difficulty speaking or understanding, confusion, problems with vision, dizziness and loss of balance. If you recognize these symptoms in someone, always call the ambulance, even if the symptoms disappear after a while. After my mum suffered this i decided to get my emergency certificate.
Ascension Day
Ascension Day always falls on a Thursday, but the exact date is not fixed. Ascension is calculated in relation to Easter. Ascension is exactly forty days after Easter. On that day the ascension of Jesus is celebrated. It is a day off in many Catholic countries. Exceptions to this are bizarrely Spain, Portugal and Italy, very Catholic countries.
Pentecost
Pentecost does not fall on a fixed day either. This date is then calculated with reference to Ascension. Pentecost is exactly ten days after Ascension Day. On this day, Catholics celebrate the descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples of Jesus. In most countries it is a day off, but just like Ascension Day, it is not in Spain, Portugal and Italy. Nor is this day a day off for Canadians, Cameroonians, English, Poles and Russians. In France, Pentecost has had a special status since 2004: it is a public holiday, but it is not accepted in all companies because it is an unpaid public holiday. It has become a solidarity day for the older people. In 2004, many older people died during the heat wave in France because other people did not realize that older people needed extra care in extremely hot weather. The money saved on that day now goes to the elderly. Always a good thing.
Communions and Spring Celebrations
Traditionally, the month of May is also the month of choice for communions and spring celebrations. Communion celebrations fall on different dates depending on the parishes. The date for the spring festival is the same throughout Flanders, as there is a large gathering for the Liberal youth somewhere in Flanders that weekend. In days of covid not something that can be celebrated as usual.
Ice saints
However hot it may be in April and May, one should always pay attention around 11, 12 and 13 May. Then Saint Mamerus, Saint Pancras and Saint Servatius will drop by with a good portion of cold and night frost that can cause a lot of damage to young plants and shoots. So pay extra attention around this period and protect young plants! We planted to day only the plants that are winter hard, and can’t have any negative signs from the fact that we planted now already.
Maypole
This tradition is still very much alive in Germany. Here, maypole trees are set up with images of different professions. This "Maibaum" represents the honor of the city or village and there is therefore a lot of competition among themselves to set up the most beautiful tree. In certain areas of France, a maypole is set up to honor a specific person. May trees are also planted in Belgium. Yet the tradition is increasingly being lost. Originally, these maypole trees symbolized fertility. For people with allergies it also starts to be a period for watering eyes and medicine.
9 May, Mary month. This saying was used a lot by older people in the past. It is still striking today: in the month of May you cannot pass a chapel or it is decorated with flowers. And because May is the month of Mary, all mothers are celebrated and put in the spotlight in this month. In Belgium, the United States, Germany, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey and Australia, Mother's Day traditionally falls on the second Sunday of May. In Belgium, however, Antwerp is an exception to this. Mother's Day is traditionally celebrated there on 15 August. In England, Mother's Day is fixed on the fourth Sunday of spring. The French also have to act differently from others. Mother's Day is celebrated here on the 9th However, if Pentecost also falls on this last Sunday of May, Mother's Day will shift to the first Sunday of June. Mother's Day is also celebrated in the East, although not in May. The Vietnamese spoil their mom on August 8. Chinese people only celebrate their mothers until they are 35, and in Japan, mothers traditionally receive carnations for Mother's Day. The custom of keeping Mother's Day dates back to Ancient Greece. In the spring, the Ancient Greeks celebrated Rhea, the mother of all gods. The Romans celebrated the "matralia", the festival of the women and the mothers. The Catholics at first rejected these pagan customs, but gradually the tradition was revived. And now our mothers are once again being put in the spotlight, much to the delight of young and old.
Ofcourse you have 30 fays again to accumulate as much as you can to power up on June 1st, and if you are a daily blogger in may you have 31 days to earn mHive and Hbd. The fact that you can make 31 new blogs is great. Also we are heading to the end of the first half year so new goals can be made this month to see what you want to accomplish . All in all a great month to look forward to.
I AM FINISHING UP THIS BLOG , AND MAX IS P3 TOMORROW, IN PORTUGAL
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