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There are many holidays that we celebrate during the month of May. Many people, however, don’t know the history behind these holidays.
The first holiday celebrated in May is National Teacher’s Appreciation Day, which is held on Tuesday during the first full week of March. This year, it will be on Tuesday, May 2, 2023. Discussion of a day to honor teachers began in 1944. It wasn’t until 1953 that Eleanor Roosevelt convinced Congress to declare a National Teacher’s Day. The holiday was officially declared on March 7, 1980, and was celebrated on March 7 in 1985, when it was moved to the Tuesday of the first full week of March.
Cinco de Mayo, or the fifth of May, is celebrated every year on May 5, 1862, the day of the Mexican Army’s victory over France at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War. In Mexico, Cinco de Mayo, or the Battle of Puebla Day, is mainly celebrated in the state of Puebla, although there are other parts of the country that do celebrate it. There are many traditions, including military parades and recreations of the Battle of Puebla. The holiday is not considered a federal holiday and, for many Mexicans, May 5 is like any other day. Despite popular beliefs, Cinco de Mayo is not Mexican Independence Day. Why would the United States celebrate a holiday that is not even celebrated in all of Mexico? The answer is that in the United States, Cinco de Mayo has been interpreted as a celebration of Mexican culture and heritage, and is celebrated in parts of the country with large Mexican-American populations. Here in the United States, the holiday is celebrated with parades, parties, music, dancing, and food. However, many Americans who partake in these events are unaware of the true reason why we celebrate Cinco de Mayo.
National Nurses Day is on Saturday, May 6, 2023. The day was proposed by Dorothy Sutherland, an employee at the United States Department of Health, in 1953. It wasn’t until 1974, that President Nixon proclaimed a National Nurses Week, and took another seven years until May 6 was officially recognized as National Nurses Day in 1982. In 1990, the day was turned into a week-long celebration, beginning on May 6 and ending on May 12, known as National Nurses Week.
This year, Mother’s Day is on Sunday, May 14, 2023. Mother’s Day is the celebration of mothers around the world. Different countries celebrate Mother’s Day on different days of the year, although mostly celebrated during March of May. The idea of the holiday can be traced back to the ancient Greeks and Romans. However, it wasn’t until the 1900s that the holiday became official. In 1905, following the death of her mother, Anna Jarvis wanted to create a day that honored all mothers. The first official Mother’s Day celebration was held in May 1908 and, by 1912, many states had begun celebrating Mother’s Day on a yearly basis. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson officially declared the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.
Armed Forces Day is celebrated on Saturday, May 20, 2023. Prior to the creation of Armed Forces Day, separate celebrations were held for each branch of the military. It wasn’t in 1949, when Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced the creation of Armed Forces Day, to replace the separate holidays, and honor all of the branches on the same day, in response to the fact that the armed forces were now all under the agency of the Department of Defense. The original purpose of the data was to educate civilians on the role the military plays in civilian life. During the first Armed Forces Day, the holiday was celebrated with parades, receptions,and air shows. Ten thousand troops from all of the branches of the military, including veterans, marched past the president. On March 18, 1961, President John F. Kennedy officially declared Armed Forces day. It is celebrated on the third Saturday in May..
The last holiday celebrated in May is Memorial Day. This year, Memorial Day will be on Monday, May 29, 2023. This national holiday is the day that we remember all of the fallen soldiers that have served throughout America’s history. The idea of Memorial day was first proposed by General John A. Logan on May 5, 1868, following the Civil War. Logan believed that there should be a nationwide day of remembrance on May 30, 1868. The day was called Decoration Day and, on May 20, 1868, General James Garfield gave a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, where 5,000 people decorated the graves of the 20,000 civil war soldiers buried there. The holiday was celebrated on May 30 for many years, and evolved to honor the fallen soldiers of the more recent wars at the time, such as World War II, The Vietnam War, the Korean War, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It wasn’t until 1968, when Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act that Memorial Day was officially established as the last Monday in May as well as declared a federal holiday. The change went into effect in the year 1971, and was celebrated on a Monday so that federal employees could have a three-day weekend.
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