May

Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month

Public Law 102-450 enacted this on October 28, 1992.  The purpose of the law was to honor the achievements of Asian/Pacific Americans and to recognize their contributions to the United States.

May was selected for the recognition because two significant events in history took place in that month: Japanese immigrants first arrived in the United States on May 7, 1843, and the transcontinental railroad was completed on May 10, 1869 (Golden Spike Day).  Furthermore, since school is still in session during May, educators could capitalize on the opportunity to include APA history into the curriculum.

On October 2, 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed the Joint Resolution and the first Asian Pacific American Heritage Week was celebrated in May 1979.  In 1992, the week was expanded to a month-long recognition when President George Bush signed the law permanently designating May of each year as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.  Both the House of Representatives and the Senate unanimously supported the law.

 

May 1

May Day is a spring festival celebrating human fertility and the renewal of nature.  The festival originated with the celebration of the Roman goddess Flora and spread to other countries of the Roman Empire.  May Day was especially popular in England during medieval times.  Activities centered around the maypole, a tree collected from the woods and brought to the village to celebrate the upcoming summer. 

May Day achieved little popularity in the United States because of the Puritan influence.  However, in many European countries, it is a time of courtship.  In Communist and socialist countries, May Day often features parades exhibiting military prowess.

 

May 5

Cinco de Mayo commemorates the May 5, 1862 Battle of Puebla (Batalla de Puebla) in which General Ignacio Zaragoza”s Mexican troops defeated Napolean lll’s French forces.  France, along with England and Spain, had occupied Mexico since mid 1861 as a result of President Benito Juarex’ moratorium on foreign debt payments.  Eventually England and Spain withdrew but the French remained in an attempt to create an empire in Mexico.  The French began a military advance on Mexico and on May 5, 1862, about 5, 000 Mestizo and Zapotec Indians defeated Napolean’s army.

Many people confuse Cinco de Mayo with Mexican Independence Day (September 16, 1810).  Cinco de Mayo is celebrated more in the United States than in Mexico and many people of Mexican descent celebrate with parades, music, and dancing.

 

May 9

Mothers Day occurs annually on the second Sunday in May.    This day can be traced back to the Greek celebration honoring Rhea, the Mother of Gods.  In the 1870”s the holiday was brought to the United States.  Julia Ward Howe held Mother’s Day meetings in Boston in 1872, first suggested the day as one dedicated to peace.  Later Anna Reese Jarvis began efforts for a Mother’s Day holiday, which would help heal the emotional wounds of families torn by the Civil War.  Unfortunately, Mrs. Jarvis died in 1905 before realizing her goal.

Mrs. Jarvis’s daughter, also named Anna, then took up the cause in honor of her mother and began a letter writing campaign.  In 1908, at a church service horning her mother, Anna donated 500 white carnations.  This soon became a tradition and by 1914, President Woodrow Wilson officially proclaimed a national day honoring mothers.  Many people still wear carnations on this Sunday – pink or red for mothers still living and white for mothers who have dies.

 

May 19

Born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925, Malcolm X became one of the most outspoken and popular leaders of the Black Nationalist movement in the 1960’s.   Malcolm X was imprisoned in 1946 for burglary and embraced the Nation of Islam while in prison.  Upon his release in 1952, he went to the Muslim headquarters in Chicago and met Elijah Muhammad.  Malcolm X was a fervent supporter of black separatism and spoke eloquently and bitterly against white people.  A trip to Mecca in 1964 caused him to modify these views and he announced that he now embraced world unity.  On February 21, 1965, members of a rival organization assassinated him at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem.

 

May 31

Memorial Day was first observed in Waterloo, New York on May 5, 1866.   The purpose of the day was to honor those who fought in the Civil War.  The day has now expanded to honor those who died during each of the wars in which the United States fought.  Typical activities include placing flowers on the graves of soldiers and many communities have parades as tributes to the soldiers who died.   Public Law 90-363, passed on June 28, 1968, required that beginning in 1971, Memorial Day would be observed on the last Monday in May.  It is a legal holiday in the United States.