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Of Special Interest
Holidays & Observances This Month
May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
The celebration of Asian and Pacific ethnicity and the cultural contributions people of Asian and Pacific origin have made to the United States began as Asian Pacific Week, observed during the first ten days of May, but was extended to a full month with a presidential proclamation issued by President George Bush in 1990. The Asian Pacific population in the United States comprises an amazingly wide range of cultures, languages, religions, belief systems, histories, legends, not to mention climates and terrains. Asian Pacific American Heritage Month honors the contributions of Asian Pacific Americans to the history and culture of the United States, while aiming to accentuate the cultural nuances of such a diverse ethnic group. Throughout the month of May, the achievements, growth, and notable accomplishments of Asian Pacific Americans are commemorated. The focus of this month-long celebration is the successes of Asian Pacific Americans, to be reinforced in school, through special media programming, cultural, historical, and art exhibits, public discussions of issues relevant and pertaining to Asian Pacific communities.
Tuesday, 1 May May Day is another of many celebrations descending from the traditions of the Celts, who inhabited much of Northern Europe, and their adaptation by other cultures. One of four major festivals of the Celtic year, Beltane, as it is most commonly referred to in English, fell on the first of May and was commemorated as the climax of spring, with emphasis on rebirth and reveling in the florid beauty of the season. The Roman Floralia adopted many of the customs of May Day, particularly the rite of passage into adulthood, that is, entering into child-bearing unions on the last several nights of April, inviting the season of fertility not just into their lives, but also their bodies. May 1st also doubles as International Labor Day, declared such by the International Socialist Congress in 1889, on which workers around the world rally to promote workers rights and fair trade practices that improve the daily lives of workers as well as the quality of the products and services they provide, thus increasing the longevity and success of a business. Historically, May Day has often been the date and setting for strikes and other organized bargaining of hard-fought demands such as an eight-hour working day, overtime benefits, equal pay for women, job security, adequate wages, and other stipulations vital for conducting one's work under humane conditions. Unfortunately, human rights are often exchanged for the sake of profit, so during the late 19th century and since, May Day has been the time and place to voice concerns over the treatment and compensation of laborers.
May Day
Saturday, 5 May
Cinco De Mayo
El Cinco de Mayo marks the anniversary of the Battle at Puebla, in which the odds were stacked so high against the Mexican army that their decisive defeat of the invading French army lives vividly in the memories of Mexicans despite the fact that it didn't assure the final expulsion of the French. In fact, if it wasn’t for the courageous military and defensive maneuvers of approximately 4,000 Mexicans facing a French army three times that number on May 5, 1862, not only Mexico but also the United States would have been the next location of the French Emperor Napoleon III's plan for North America's domination. Mexican ex-patriots living in the United States, who had formed societies of a political nature, had an interest at accelerating the conversion of the French puppet regime to a Mexican constitutional government, and supported Mexican forces in their rocky transition to independence. In time, as the threat of further attacks from foreign powers waned, these organizations grew more social and cultural in nature. Cinco de Mayo is a time for observing the Mexican struggle for full independence and the triumphs through which it was attained.
Tuesday, 8 May
National Teacher's Day
Schools would be nothing if not for the dedication of the teachers. Charged with inspiring the younger generation to fulfill their dreams and assume adult responsibilities, a teacher's job description is formidable, to say the least. They must present information, and relate it, which might be fairly simple if academics were always exciting. However, the real challenge for a teacher is to interest the young minds in the subject at hand. Therefore, a dedicated educator is not only able to instruct, but actually evoke enthusiasm, stimulate students creatively, and motivate them to find their voice, their passion, and a sense of self-esteem based on knowledge. A teacher who loves their subject, be it biology, home economics, or art, and is able to communicate their excitement can be just what a kid needs to guide them in their path. Though the initial observance had been established since 1953, National Teacher Day is currently celebrated on the Tuesday of Teacher Appreciation Week, which falls annually during the first full week of May, to pay due tribute to teachers and the immeasurable importance of their work.
Sunday, 13 May
Mother's Day
Modern Mother's Day grew out of ancient springtime festivals celebrating fertility and mother goddesses. For example, the Phrygians of Asia Minor honored Cybele, the mother of all Phrygian gods with an annual festival; the ancient Greek springtime event was dedicated to their mother goddess, Rhea; Romans celebrated the Magna Mater with the three day festival of Hilaria, which began each year on March 15th, a date that also concurs with the Roman Vernal Equinox observance. During the Middle Ages, with only one day a year, excepting major Christian holidays, allotted for personal time, a custom of working children returning home on the fourth Sunday of Lent to visit their mothers and pay homage to Mother Church became prevalent in England and Scotland. The tradition outlasted the harsh conditions of the time and turned into Mothering Sunday, celebrated in Great Britain to this day. While some may still believe that Mother's Day is a Hallmark holiday created to boost flower, chocolate, and greeting card sales, it was first observed in the United States after the example of Mothering Sunday on May 10, 1908. By the time it was proclaimed a national holiday and the second Sunday in May set aside for its observance by President Woodrow Wilson in May, 1914, a Mother's Day commemoration existed in each of the fifty states.
Saturday, 19 May
Armed Forces Day
The military lifestyle is most certainly not for everyone. Imagine long hours of training, overseeing and completing missions, obeying all commands from one's superior, putting the needs of your country and people before your own, the dedication that enlisting, whether in peacetime or war, requires, and the toll that being part of the military has on one's private and family life. Thus, the people that do join and stick with the Armed Forces, must be recognized for their dedication not to mention the defensive and strategic services they must provide. Enacting the responsibilities of policing the world, as the current most powerful democracy, requires intense commitment and great personal sacrifice on the part of the individuals who comprise the Armed Forces. The five branches of the military, Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and Navy, were consolidated under the Department of Defense, formed in 1949 when the previously existing National Military Establishment was restructured. It is this division of the U.S. government that supervises all policies connected to military affairs. When the reorganization occurred, each branch of the Armed Forces with an existing day of commemoration was requested to trade it in support of a united Armed Forces Day to be celebrated by each of the five branches on the third Saturday in May.
Monday, 28 May
Memorial Day
Memorial Day is largely devoted to venerating those who perished during their service and recognizing our collective debt and mourning at their loss. Founded shortly following the conclusion of the Civil War, at the repeated suggestion of a pharmacist from Waterloo, New York that flowers and other commemorative objects be brought to the graves of deceased soldiers. This commemoration was established as Decoration Day, a time for recognizing the losses resulting from the Civil War and became officially recognized and widely adopted as of May 5, 1868. It is a time for the emotional exploration of death for a cause and honoring the character and commitment of all the soldiers who fell throughout this country's distinguished military history, whether they were amateurs fighting for their convictions during the Civil War or thoroughly trained military operatives such as those who secured the victory of World War II. Decoration Day was renamed Memorial Day in 1882, which extended the remembrance to all American soldiers who gave their lives for their country. Memorial Day was declared a national holiday to be observed on the last Monday of May in 1971.
This Month in History
1 May
1883 - Buffalo Bill (William F. Cody) staged his first Wild West Show.
1931 - The Empire State Building officially opened in New York City. Until 1972 it was the tallest building in the world at 102 stories high. The construction of the building was completed in 14 months. Due to economic depression, which began in 1929, the cost of the building totaled less than $25 million, half the original estimate.
7 May
1789 - The first Presidential Inaugural Ball was held in New York City. Each lady in attendance received, as a gift, a portrait of George Washington.
1945 - The instruments of the surrender of German forces in World War II were signed by General Jodl, the German chief of staff, at General Eisenhower's headquarters in Rheims.13 May
1607 - Captain John Smith and a party of soldiers landed in Virginia, named the spot Jamestown and established the first permanent British settlement in the New World.
1968 - Talks between North Vietnamese and American negotiators, aimed at ending the Vietnam War, opened in Paris.
19 May
1643 - The towns of Connecticut, Plymouth and New Haven formed a Confederation of the United Colonies of New England as protection in the wars with American Indians.
1958 - The United States and Canada formally established the North American Air Defense Command.
25 May
1787 - The Constitutional Convention started its first session in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The delegates repealed the "Articles of Confederation" and drafted a new US constitution. The new document was the result of many compromises between nationalists and federalists. Fifty-five delegates from 12 states met in Philadelphia.
1995 - A major flare-up in the Bosnian war began when NATO launched air strikes against ammunition bunkers near Pale.
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Words to Remember "Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all others."
- Winston [Leonard Spencer] Churchill (1874 - 1965)
"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat." ...Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919)
Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910
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