#FunFactFriday – May

Last year’s May #FunFactFriday was all about May holidays—get ready, Cinco de Mayo is tomorrow! So for this year’s installment, we’re shifting our focus to interesting observances and facts about this month as a whole.

A Snapshot of May:

1. In any given year, no month ever begins or ends on the same day of the week as May does.
2. No U.S. President has ever died in May (unlike in July). It is the only month that can make such a claim.
3. It is considered unlucky to marry in May. This superstition dates back to the Romans who thought May to be the month ghosts roamed.
4. The month of May was named for the Greek goddess Maia. The name has since changed throughout the years and was first called May in the 1400s.
5. The Kentucky Derby is always held on the first Saturday of this month. Who are you rooting for?
6. Today is May the 4^th, a.k.a. Star Wars Day. The holiday spans all the way back to 1979, just two years after the original Star Wars came out. Britain’s Conservative Party celebrated the election of the new Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, by placing a full-page ad in the London Evening News that read, “May the Fourth Be With You, Maggie. Congratulations.”

Other May Observances

1. The first Saturday in May each year is World Naked Gardening Day.
2. May is Mental Health Month and Better Hearing and Speech Month.
3. May 9^th is National Lost Sock Memorial Day. This strikes a chord with just about everyone who does their own laundry.
4. National Mimosa Day falls on May 16, no further excuses necessary.
5. And May 25^th is National Wine Day—what a month!

As always, we wish you a safe, happy and productive month ahead. May the Fourth always be with you!