We celebrate spring in the northern hemisphere while we celebrate autumn in the southern hemisphere in May. May is the fifth month of Julian and Gregorian and the third of seven months to have 31 days.
Initially, May was named after the Greek goddess Maia who is also identified as a Roman Era fertility goddess. The birthstone associated with May is Emerald and it signifies love and success.
Various Holidays come in May, We are going to discuss a few of them. Scroll for our may 2022 calendar.
Holidays In May 2022 calendar
Holidays as per Date
1st May (May Day/ Maharashtra Day)
May Day is observed on the 1st of May every year. On this day we celebrate the Ancient Northern Hemisphere spring festival.
From the 19th century, we started observing International workers day on this date every year to honor the workers all across the globe.
And hence mayday is also sometimes known as labor’s day. Keep in mind that International workers day is different from the traditional Celebration of Mayday.
Maharashtra day: This day is to celebrate the formation of Maharashtra as it was formed on 1 May 1960. Hence 1st of May is a holiday in the state of Maharashtra.
The citizens of Maharashtra celebrate this day by having parades and political speeches. This is a day to celebrate history and traditions in the state.
2nd May (Maharshi Parasuram Jayanti)
This day is celebrated to signify the birth of Maharishi Parasuram who is considered the sixth avatar of Lord Vishnu. The day is known as Maharshi Parasuram Jayanti.
Maharshi Parasuram is one of the Chiranjeevi's as per the records. He is the immortal one who will act as a teacher or guru at the end of Kali-yuga and guide Kalki towards the path of light and virtue of “Dharma”.
It is believed he is the only avatar of Lord Vishnu who never dies and remains in a meditative state.
3rd May (Eid Ul Fitr, Basava Jayanti)
This year, this day is going to be observed as Idul Fitr. This is a religious holiday that is observed worldwide by the specifics of Islam.
This day has a specific meaning in Islamic culture, as it denotes the end of the month-long dawn to sunset fast also known as Ramadan by People of Islamic tradition.
The entire month is known as Ramadan and the people having faith in Islam keep fast from sunrise to sunset. During this, they also practice various religious prayers and charity.
The main attraction of celebrating this holiday or festival is food and hence sometimes this festival is also known as Sugar Feast or Sweet Eid.
This holiday seems to be one of the major holidays of Islamic culture and they celebrate this with quite a funfair and reverence.
3rd May (Eid Ul Fitr, Basava Jayanti)
The day is celebrated as Basava Jayanti. This is the birth anniversary of the renowned philosopher and founder of the Lingayat sect known as Basaveshwara.
This holiday is quite popular in the Lingayat sect of Karnataka for its symbolism and significance. He was a 12th-century poet, philosopher, and saint.
He was born in the Vijayapura district of Karnataka State in India. He has an entire town named after him/ The town is called Basavana Bagewadi as it is believed to be the birthplace of Basaveshwara
5. 9th May (Guru Rabindranath Jayanti/Maharana Pratap Jayanti)
On this day, we celebrate the birth of Guru Rabindranath. The day is also known as Guru Rabindranath Jayanti. This day is celebrated to honor Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore who is popularly known for his poems, short stories, songs, and much more.
He was the person behind writing the national anthem of India. Some of his notable works are Gitanjali, Kabuliwallah, and Postmaster.
He is a very popular name in Bengali culture and has contributed quite a lot to the culture and tradition. This day is also celebrated as Maharana Pratap Jayanti to give respect to the trial and tribulation of Maharana Pratap.
He was a Rajput king hailing from Mewar who fought very bravely in all his wars and was known to be a war genius. The most renowned battle of Maharana Pratap is known as the battle of Haldighati which he fought alongside Akbar.
He was a major contributor to the first independence fight of India and a popular ruler of India who is remembered to this day. In the honor of his memory, we observe this day with festivities and fun.
6. 13th May (Eid Ul Fitr)
This day is celebrated as Idul Fitr, keep in mind that most Islamic culture festivals and traditions revolve around moon and sun durations.
This one is no different. Here we celebrate the end of the long fasting month of Ramadan where People of Islamic culture observe fast from dawn to dusk or sunrise to sunset.
This is a festival of food and revolves around food throughout the duration. People cook a buffet of delicious food and enjoy the night away.
7. 16 May 2022 (State Day/ Buddha Purnima)
This day is known for two reasons. One because it is a state day for Sikkim. In 1975, Sikkim became the 22nd state of India on this day only.
And hence this day is a state holiday and is celebrated with reverence and functions of various kinds. Sikkim is quite a beauty in terms of visual allure as it is home to various wildflowers, alpine meadows, and glaciers.
So if you are keen on traveling then it would be a wise idea to reach out when the entire state is in festival mode and having fun.
Another reason to celebrate this day is Buddha Purnima which is dedicated to lord buddha and is the journey towards enlightenment.
On this day we observe huge festivities and a large fair in Sarnath, as this is the place where Buddha first gave his sermons. As per the Hindi calendar, this day is celebrated in the month of Baisakh and when the moon is at its fullest.
Gautham Buddha was the founder of Buddhism. To celebrate this day, people who believe in Buddhism or in general do the prayer before sunrise and enjoy the day through various marches, songs, exercises, and dance performances.
8. 24 May 2022 (Birthday of Kazi Nazrul Islam)
This day is celebrated as the birth anniversary of Kazi Nazrul Islam. We celebrate this day to honor literature and a renowned personality.
Kazi Nazrul Islam fondly known as Nazrul has given his contribution to literature in the form of poetry and music. His work mostly revolved around Humanity, love, and freedom.
His work inspired and motivated a lot of people but the Bengalis of East Pakistan were specifically inspired and motivated by his work during their Bangladesh Liberation War. Hence to honor all his contributions we celebrate this day with reverence.
Conclusion
There are many state and religion-specific holidays celebrated all across the globe for various reasons. Somewhere we celebrate these to denote the birth of a famous personality
While in some other place on this day we observe festivities because of various religious and traditional reasons. We as humankind have always loved festivals and like to give honor to the memory of people
Who have done so much for our cultural, religious, and spiritual growth.
FAQs
1. What big holiday is in May?
May host a plethora of big and important holidays. We celebrate international worker’s day, Eid al-Fitr, Buddha Purnima, and a lot of memorial days such as Rabindranath Tagore Jayanti, parshuram Jayanti, and much more.
2. What is celebrated on May 16th?
We celebrate state day, Buddha Purnima is celebrated on May 16 and is considered a holiday for the citizens.
3. What national day is May 9?
This day is celebrated as Rabindranath Tagore Jayanti. He was the person behind the National anthem of India.
In this article we have covered few festivals that are held in may 2022 calendar.