May(be Baby)

I'm a little late with the "It's Gonna Be May" and "May the Fourth Be With You" (and also with you!  hahaha!  a little Catholic humor thrown in for giggles.  I can't resist!) memes.  And I'm also a day late for Cinco de Mayo (or Cinco de Drinko as I like to call it). 

However, I am posting on the day Meghan Markle finally gave birth to a bouncing baby boy!  Yay!  Is it just me or does it seem like she was pregnant forever?  I asked Coach the other day to weigh in on the rumors that she secretly already had the baby.  And he looked me dead in the eyes and said, "I have no idea who that is."  What?  In?  The?  Holy?  Hell????  We have a Harry and Megan wedding tea towel for God's sake!!!  Who is this man????

We had some crazy storms for a couple of days which is normal in North Texas this time of year but the weather in Dallas this past weekend was pretty close to perfect.  We had to cut down our big beautiful tree (see previous post) but this weekend we did a little project and installed a sun shade/sail over our patio area to provide some relief from the sun.  It's perfect and with the curtains blowing, the sun shade catching a breeze, all my candles and pillows, flowers . . . it's very intimate, relaxed and very boho!  We love sitting out there and it's easily one of our favorite spots! 

May

May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and the third of seven months to have a length of 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 and Canada and ends on Labor Day, the first Monday of September.

The month of 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).

 

Special devotions to the Virgin Mary take place in May.  I remember as a child, our elderly priest (whose name escapes me at this moment but he had snow white hair) always said prayers to honor Mary during his mass.  I don't remember another priest ever doing that and it always stuck out in my mind. 

Mayovka, in the context of the late Russian Empire, was a picnic in the countryside or in a park in the early days of May, hence the name. Eventually, "mayovka" (specifically, "proletarian mayovka") came to mean an illegal celebration of May 1 by revolutionary public, typically presented as an innocent picnic.

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.

May's birthstone is the emerald which is emblematic of love and success.

The May birth flowers are the Lily of the Valley and the Crataegus monogyna.  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 climactic world.

The "Mayflower" Epigaea repens is a North American harbinger of May, and the floral emblem of both Nova Scotia and Massachusetts. Its native range extends from Newfoundland south to Florida, west to Kentucky in the southern range, and to Northwest Territories in the north.

The zodiac signs for the month of May are Taurus (until May 20) and Gemini (May 21 onwards).

In Catholic tradition, May is the Month of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Celiac Awareness Month

Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month

Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Awareness month

International Mediterranean Diet Month

Better Hearing and Speech Month

National Electrical Safety Month (United States)

Garden for Wildlife month

New Zealand Music Month (New Zealand)

Skin Cancer Awareness Month

National Smile Month (United Kingdom)

South Asian Heritage Month (International)

World Trade Month

Huntington's Disease Awareness Month (International)

Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

National ALS Awareness Month

Bicycle Month (United States)

National Brain Tumor Awareness Month

National Burger Month

Community Action Awareness Month (North Dakota, United States)

National Foster Care Month (United States)

National Golf Month

Jewish American Heritage Month

Haitian Heritage Month

Hepatitis Awareness Month

Mental Health Awareness Month

National Military Appreciation Month

National Moving Month

Older Americans Month

National Osteoporosis Month

National Stroke Awareness Month

National Water Safety Month

National Corps Member Appreciation Month