May 2010...
* 4/21 to 5/2:
Ridvan. * 4/26 to 5/3: Mayan Rain Festival. * 4/28 eve to 5/3 eve:
Floralia. * 4/30 eve to 5/2 eve: Beltaine. * 4/30 to 5/4:
Zoroastrian celebration. * 4/30 eve to 5/5 eve: Mid-Spring/May
Day/Walpurgis. * 5/1: Christian feast celebrating the sacred marriage of
Blessed Mary and St. Joseph. * 5/1: Mindfulness Day--Zen
Buddhist day for being mindful that everything you do, or fail to do, affects
all sentient beings. * 5/1: Law Day--Day to celebrate rule of law
(and freedom from rule by force - rule of men). Where there is rule of law, the
military, the police, civilian government officials, and the people are all
subject to the law, and enforcement of the law is uniform.
* 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: Day Pope John Paul II affirmed that
capitalism must be tempered by social justice and restrained by human rights and
environmental laws (1991). * 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:
World Press Freedom Day--Day to recognize the importance of a free, independent,
pluralistic media world-wide, as a fundamental human right and essential to
democracy. * 5/4: Birthday
of Horace Mann (1796), advocate for universal nonsectarian education. * 5/5:
Cinco de Mayo--Day celebrating Mexico’s victory over occupying French
forces; day to mourn
Hispanic victims of exploitation (past and present), make peace, and celebrate
empowerment of Hispanic Americans. * 5/6: Shepherd’s Day--Day to meditate
on Deity as Lord of Animals - God as Dumuzi (Old Sumerian), Osiris
(Old Egyptian), Pan (Old Greek), Veles (Old Slavic) & Shiva
Pasupati (Hindu). * 5/6: National Day of Prayer--Day to pray for
freedom of expression, freedom of religion, and separation of religion and
government throughout the world. * 5/8: 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. * 5/8:
Christian feast of St. Julian of Norwich (d. 1419) - mystic who believed Deity
to be Father and Mother, everywhere in everything. * 5/8:
Spring Migratory Bird Day--Day to celebrate the migration of nearly 350 species
of birds between nesting grounds in North America and playgrounds in Latin
America, Mexico, and the Caribbean; day to watch for migrating birds and to
advocate for preservation of migratory birds and their habitat.
* 5/8 eve:
Vigil for lost mothers; night of mourning and healing. * 5/9: 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. *
5/9: Day the world’s nations committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions,
which are causing climate change (1992);
day to mourn the failure of the U.S. to
reduce these emissions. * 5/10: Death day of Theodore Parker (1860),
Unitarian slavery abolitionist and social justice activist. * 5/10 to 5/12:
Rogation Days--Christian days of prayer for bountiful crops, sustainable
development, and healing of environmental abuses. * 5/12: Day the first
woman was ordained a rabbi in Conservative Judaism (1985). * 5/13 (9:04
p.m. EDT): New Moon. * 5/13 (OC 5/13): Ascension Day--Christian feast
marking Lord Jesus’ ascension into Heaven. * 5/13: Day the
Humanist Manifesto was published (1933). It exhorts people to affirm life, not
deny it; engage life, not flee from it; and work towards the happiness of self
and all. * 5/13 to 5/16: Iroquois Corn-Planting Ceremony--in thanksgiving
for the corn seed. Iroquois believe Awenhai/Sky Woman descended from the
Sky and created Earth. * 5/14: Remembrance day for Moses de Leon
(1240-1305), Kabbalistic mystic. He compiled the Zohar, a Kabbalistic commentary
on the Torah. * 5/15: Yoruba/Santeria feast of Ochossi, Orisha of
Animals. Yorubas/Santeros celebrate with drumming, ecstatic dancing, and
possession trance. * 5/15: Family Day--Day to celebrate family and
reach out to estranged family members. *
5/15: Peace Officers Memorial Day--Day to honor all police officers who
served honorably and died in the line of duty, enforcing the law and protecting
the people from criminals. * 5/17: Baha’i feast honoring the one Deity as ‘Azamat
- Grandeur. Baha’is believe in the oneness of all religions. * 5/17: Day
the Supreme Court concluded that ethnic-based segregation of schools violates
the U.S. Constitution (1954). * 5/17 eve to 5/18 eve: Feast of Old Greek
Deities Aphrodite and Eros--Day to honor love and passion. *
5/18: Feast of Old Greek God Pan, who represents the masculine in
Nature and protects men throughout their lives. * 5/18: Day Fr. Matthew
Fox nailed his own 95 Theses to the door of the church where Martin Luther
nailed his theses, to spur an eco-egalitarian Christian reformation (2005). *
5/18 eve to 5/20 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. Also commemorates Moses’ receipt of the Ten
Commandments. * 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. The
Celts also threw offerings into the wells and springs. * 5/19:
Day the first woman was ordained a rabbi in Reconstructionist Judaism (1974).
* 5/20: Day the Supreme Court concluded that, under the Free Exercise
Clause of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, freedom of religious
belief is absolute, but the freedom to act on that belief is subject to
nondiscriminatory laws intended to promote public safety, health, or general
welfare of the community (1940). *
5/20: Day the Supreme Court recognized that discrimination against
lesbians and gays violates the U.S. Constitution (1996). * 5/21:
Beginning of Gemini (the Twins/Lovers/Partners). * 5/21: Devi Puja--Day
to fast from grains (and meat) and make offerings to Hindu Goddess Maha Devi.
Flowers, incense, lamps, and vegetarian food are offered; bells are rung and
drums beaten. * 5/21: Chinese Buddhist festival
celebrating the birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana of Fo Shihchiamouni
(Buddha Shakyamuni/Siddhartha Gautama) (563-483 BCE).
*
5/21: Endangered Species Day--Day to advocate for preservation of
endangered species and their habitats. * 5/21: Cultural Diversity
Day--Day to celebrate cultural differences (including positive traditions, language, art,
song, dance, food, and clothing) of African, Asian, Oceanic, Middle Eastern,
European, Hispanic, and Native American peoples.
* 5/21: Death day of Jane Addams (1935), social worker,
feminist, and peace advocate. * 5/22: Biological Diversity Day--Day to recognize that the survival of humanity is
dependent on the survival of the many diverse species on the Earth: The
extinction of other species will bring about our own extinction.
* 5/22: Day to mourn Pope John Paul II’s
edict barring women from the priesthood in the Catholic Church (2004). * 5/23
(OC 5/23): Pentecost/Whitsunday--Christian feast celebrating the descent of the
Holy Spirit upon the male and female disciples of Lord Jesus;
honors Her as the Paraclete, Grace, Wisdom, Justice,
and Providence. * 5/23: Birthday of Margaret Fuller (1810),
Transcendentalist and feminist who argued that women, as well as men, have
immortal souls. * 5/24 (OC 5/24): Day of the Holy Spirit--Christian
celebration of the Holy Spirit. * 5/25: Day Pope John Paul II
reaffirmed the Catholic Church’s commitment to ecumenism (1995). * 5/27
(7:07 p.m. EDT): Full Moon (Rose/Berry Moon). * 5/27: Saga Dawa Duchen--Tibetan Buddhist festival celebrating the birth,
enlightenment, and parinirvana of Buddha Siddhartha Gautama (563-483
BCE). * 5/27: Birthday of Rachel Carson (1907), biologist who began the
environmental movement. * 5/29: Death day of Baha’i Prophet
Baha’u’llah (1892). Baha’u’llah believed Deity to be male, female,
and beyond gender. * 5/30: Trinity Sunday--Christian celebration of the
one universal Deity as Holy Heavenly Father, Holy Spirit Mother,
and Holy Christ Child. * 5/31: Christian feast of Our Lady,
Queen of Heaven. * 5/31: 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. *
5/31 eve: Vigil for lost spouses/partners; night of mourning and healing.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Permission to use and distribute these excerpts is granted for non-commercial purposes, provided the following information is included:
Excerpted from
THE MYSTIC'S WHEEL OF THE YEAR 2010
A Multifaith Calendar Reflecting Eco-Egalitarian Spirituality
© 2009 Marija Miovski
www.WheeloftheYear.com
