The merry month of May starts with the May Day, or labor day, a national holiday which is celebrated in Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Mexico, China, Brazil and various countries worldwide. This holiday has its origin in political demonstrations by the workers unions, who fought for an eight-hour-day back in 1886.
In Germany in many places there is the tradition to set up trees decorated with colored masking tapes. These trees are usually set up by young men who dedicated it to the girl the fell in love with.
In the United Kingdom, May Day is celebrated as a bank holiday on the first Monday in May. In the UK there is another bank holiday which is celebrated on the last Monday of the month. This year the Spring Bank Holiday will be celebrated on the 31st of May.
In the US, the 31st is the Memorial Day that commemorates US people who died in the military service. It was originally introduced as „Decoration Day“, a memorial day for soldiers of the civil war, but was expanded in 1971.
France celebrates on May 8 the “Fête de la Victoire“. This day commemorates the victory over Hitler. This holiday controversial. In 1975 it was even disastablished.
Turks celebrate the Commemoration of Atatürk and the Youth & Sports Day on the 19th. This holiday commemorates the beginning of the Turkish independence war in 1919.
The „Ascension Day“ is a Christian holiday celebrated on the 13th. It takes place 40 days after Jesus Christ resurrection of death. On this day Jesus Christ ascends to heaven. 10 days later, it’s Whitsun, a holiday that commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit. Whitsun originates from the Jewish holiday Shavout. It commemorates the day, God gave the Thora to Moses. [DE]
