* 4/28 eve to 5/3 eve: Floralia--Old Roman festival devoted to Flora, Goddess of Flowers.[caption id="attachment_13866" align="alignleft" width="212"]
Beltane by Janice Duke[/caption]* 4/30 eve to 5/2 eve: Beltaine--Old Celtic/Welsh feast of Blodeuwedd (Goddess of Flowers) and Llew (the Oak King - God of the waxing Sun).* 4/30 eve to 5/5 eve: Mid-Spring/May Day/Walpurgis--Celebrates sacred love and the flowering vegetation by gathering flowers and dancing around a Maypole.* 5/1: Christian feast celebrating the sacred marriage of Blessed Mary and St. Joseph.* 5/1: Birthday of Fr. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881), Catholic mystic and evolutionary who experienced the union of consciousness with all Nature.* 5/1 eve to 5/2 eve: Feast of Old Greek Goddess Artemis, who represents the feminine in Nature and protects women throughout their lives.* 5/1 to 5/4: Zuni Green Corn Dance--welcoming back the Corn Maidens, who flee the land during the Winter.* 5/1 to 5/31: May originally dedicated to Old Roman Goddess Maia; later dedicated to Christian Lady Mary - Co-Redemptrix, Mediatrix, and Advocate.
* 5/2 eve to 5/6 eve (5/4 peak): Eta Aquarid Meteor Showers.* 5/3: Taue Matsuri--Shinto rice-planting festival.* 5/3 eve to 5/4 eve: Feast of God Poseidon, Goddess Amphritrite, and all Old Greek Gods and Goddesses of the seas.* 5/6: Mindfulness Day--Zen Buddhist day for being mindful that everything you do, or fail to do, affects all sentient beings.* 5/8: Christian feast of St. Julian of Norwich (d. 1419), mystic who believed Deity to be Father and Mother, everywhere in everything.
* 5/10 (5:43 p.m. EDT): Full Moon (Flower/Corn-Planting Moon).* 5/13: Spring Migratory Bird Day.* 5/13 eve: Vigil for lost mothers; night of mourning and healing.* 5/14: Mothers’ Day--Day to give love and thanks to all mothers; day for all mothers to celebrate motherhood and contemplate their sacred duty to provide for the physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual needs of their children.* 5/18: Feast of Old Greek God Pan, who represents the masculine in Nature and protects men throughout their lives.* 5/19: Old Celtic/Irish feast in which sacred healing wells and springs were adorned with flowers in honor of Goddess Brigid, daughter of Mother Goddess Danu and Father God Dagda.* 5/19: Endangered Species Day--Day to advocate for preservation of endangered species and their habitats.
* 5/21: Beginning of Gemini (the Twins/Lovers/Partners).* 5/21: Dakinis’ Day--Day Tantric Buddhists make offerings to the Dakinis and Mother Tantra; day to unite will and power to manifest positive social change and environmental healing.* 5/22 to 5/24: Rogation Days--Christian days of prayer for bountiful crops, sustainable development, and healing of environmental abuses.
* 5/25 (3:44 p.m. EDT): New Moon.* 5/25 (OC 5/25): Ascension Day--Christian feast marking Lord Jesus’ ascension into Heaven.* 5/25 eve: Old European feast of the Triple Goddess (Goddess of the Moon and the Seasons), marking the transformation of the Virgin into the Mother.* 5/25 to 5/28: Iroquois Strawberry Ceremony--in thanksgiving for the strawberry harvest. Iroquois consider themselves kin to all of Nature.* 5/26 eve to 6/24 eve: Ramadan--Muslim month of purification by self-reflection, fasting from sunrise to sunset, peace-making, and helping those in need. Ramadan Truce (through Eid al-Fitr).
* 5/27: Birthday of Rachel Carson (1907), biologist who began the environmental movement.* 5/29: Memorial Day--Day to honor all soldiers who fought honorably and died in war, to mourn all of war’s victims, and to contemplate all the horrors of war.* 5/29 eve to 5/30 eve: Feast of Old Greek Deities Aphrodite and Eros--Day to honor love and passion.* 5/30 eve to 6/1 eve: Shavuot/Feast of First Fruits--Jewish festival of thanksgiving for the first fruits of the grain harvest. Originally, loaves of bread were offered to Elohim.
* 5/31: Christian feast of Our Lady, Queen of Heaven.Excerpted fromTHE MYSTIC'S WHEEL OF THE YEAR 2017A Multifaith Calendar Reflecting Eco-Egalitarian Spirituality© 2016 Marija Miovskiwww.WheeloftheYear.com
