April 27, 2017
May – A Month for Making Memories
By Eloise Graham
There are many memorable days and activities attributed to May. Let’s start with May Day – a celebration with dancing around a flagpole donned with streamers and flowers. How appropriate that it is celebrated on May 1st each year. Cinco de Mayo (the fifth of May) is a time to remember and celebrate the Mexican’s Army victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. The day seems to be celebrated here in the U.S. more than in Mexico. It is a time for celebration of Mexican-American culture. The first Saturday in May boasts of “The Greatest Two Minutes in Sports” or, as most of us know it, The Kentucky Derby. This year it is May 6 and will be the 143rd race. The race itself, all two minutes of it, caps off the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival in Louisville, Kentucky. Right on the heels, or hoofs shall we say, of the Derby is the day to honor mothers and mother figures everywhere! The second Sunday in May is set aside for the many memories of mothers.
This year that special day is May 14. Sunday, May 28 will be the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500. This takes place annually at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis. And now for the Granddaddy of all memorable May days, Memorial Day. This year, it will be Monday, May 29. Until 1971, it was always on May 30, but the Uniform Holiday Act changed the date to the last Monday of May.
Now for lesser known but definitely memorable days with which to make many memories: Mother Goose Day and Save the Rhino Day are also on May 1. Brother and Sisters Day is May 2. National Teacher’s Day is observed on the Tuesday of the first full week of May. Nurses Day, Clergy Appreciation Day and Midwives Day are all on May 6. No Socks Day is May 8. Migratory Bird Day is May 12. May 15 offers National Mole Day and Hug Your Cat Day. On the somber side, May 15 is Peace Officers Memorial Day a.k.a. Police Memorial Day, and the flag should be displayed at half staff. The third Friday in May is National Defense Transportation Day and the third Saturday is Armed Forces Day. Jazz Day is held the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. To round out the list, May 26 is Neighbor Day.
Go out and celebrate some of these days and make MANY MEMORIES!!!
