Today's ice saint is Cold Sophie (Kalte Sophie), and this is the last of the Eisheilige days. Appeals were made to the goddess of fire and warmth (Vesta in Roman religion; see below, Ides of May).

Ides of May/Feast day of Vesta, ancient Rome
On the Ides of May, the Vestal virgins (priestesses of Vesta) performed a rite to regulate water supply for the coming Summer.

Festival of the Lemuria, Festival of Ghosts, Roman Empire (also May 9 and 13)
In Roman religion, Lemures were wandering spirits of departed loved ones. They were said to revisit their homes at this time, and were shown respect by the Roman people, who set aside a week to appease, or exorcize them. We may think of it as similar, and serving a similar function to, Halloween (Samhain).

The myth of origin of this ancient festival was that it had been instituted by Romulus to appease the spirit of his unfortunate brother Remus (Ovid, Fasti, v. 473ff) …

Goddess month of Maia ends

Feast day of St Achiles

Feast day of St Andrew Abellon

Feast day of St Bertha

Feast day of St Britwin

Feast day of St Caesarea

Feast day of St Caesarn

Feast day of St Cassius

Feast day of St Dionysia

Feast day of St Dymphna/Dympna, virgin, martyr

St Dympna pilgrimage in Geel, Belgium
Patron saint of the insane, particularly observed in Geel, Belgium. Townsfolk take care of mentally disturbed through a 'boarding out' system.

Pilgrimages to the saint's tomb in Geel

Welsh poppy
Native to western Europe, this perennial grows to 18 inches with 2 to 3 inch lemon-yellow flowers May to August. Likes rich humus soil, light shade and average water. Good in mixed perennial beds. Might self sow.

Feast day of St Genebrard, martyr

Feast day of St Gerebernus

Feast day of St Hallvard

Feast day of St Hesychius

Feast day of St Hilary

Feast day of St Indaletius

Feast day of St Isaias

Feast day of St Isidore of Chios

Feast day of St Isidore of Madrid (Isidore the Farmer; pictured at right), labourer, patron of Madrid
Saint Isidore is the patron saint of Madrid and of farmers. Religious services are held in chapels in the fields of Madrid, followed by local fairs. This commemoration is an integral part of the Week of Bullfights; it's also celebrated in Mexican towns that have Isidore as a patron. See also, below, Carabao Festival in the Philippines.

Feast day of St Magdalen Albrizzi

Feast day of St Nicholas the Mystic

Feast day of St Pachomius

Feast day of Ss Peter, Andrew, and companions, martyrs

Feast day of St Torquatus

Feast day of St Waldalenus

Click for Eastern Orthodox liturgical days    Shop saints

National Unity Day, Latvia

Feast day of Our Lady of Azambuja, Brusque, Brazil

Aoi Matsuri, or Hollyhock Festival, Kyoto, Japan

Healing of the insane at Strathfillan pool, old Scotland

"At Strathfillan, there is a deep pool, called the Holy Pool, where, in olden times, they were wont to dip insane people. The ceremony was performed after sunset on the first day of the quarter, O. S.,* and before sunrise next morning. The dipped persons were instructed to take three stones from the bottom of the pool, and, walking three times round each of three cairns on the bank, throw a stone into each. They were next conveyed to the ruins of St Fillan's chapel; and in a corner called St Fillan's bed, they were laid on their back, and left tied all night. If next morning they were found loose, the cure was deemed perfect, and thanks returned to the saint. The pool is still (1843) visited, not by parishioners, for they have no faith in its virtue, but by people from other and distant places."
New Statistical Account of Scotland, parish of Killin, 1843; in Robert Chambers, (Ed.), The Book of Days: A miscellany of popular antiquities in connection with the calendar, etc, W & R Chambers, London, 1881 (1879 Edition is online and 1869 edition here with CD-ROM available; See also The English Year: A Personal Selection from Chambers's Book of Days)

[* The first day of quarters in Scotland is not same as in England and elsewhere. They are Candlemas, Feb 2; Whitsunday, (arbitrarily set at May 15); Lammas, Aug 1; and Martinmas, Nov 11. It's debatable whether to interpret these dates as OS (Old Style), or new.]

Note that today is the feast day of St Dymphna, patron of insane (see above).

Carabao Festival, Philippines
The carabao (Filipino: kalabaw; Malay: kerbau) or B. bubalis carabanesis is a domesticated subspecies of the water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) found in the Philippines, Guam, and various parts of Southeast Asia. Carabaos are highly associated with farmers, being the farm animal of choice for pulling the plough and the cart used to haul farm produce to the market, and the animal is thus considered a national symbol of the Philippines. Today, carabaos will be shaved, decorated, sometimes painted and their horns and hooves will be polished (see pictures). The festival is associated with San Isidro (St Isidore of Madrid; see above), the patron saint of farmers. Some sources say that the blessing of the beasts by the priest takes place on the eve of the festival; ie, May 14.

"This is held on the feast day of San Isidro on May 15^th in the farming towns of San Isidro (Nueva Ecija); Pulilan (Bulacan); and Angono (Rizal). On this day, the three towns pay homage to the beast of burden which is the farmer's best friend – the lowly carabao. Early in the morning of May 15th, each farmer assembles his carefully groomed and gaily dressed carabao at the church yard, where the priest comes to bless them, sprinkling them with holy water. After this ceremony, the beasts of burden are lined up to parade around the town. The climax of the day's activities arrives when the carabaos line up and prepare to race against each other across the fields. A signal goes up and the thunderous hooves stampede toward the finish line. At the finish line, the bulky beasts thunder to a halt and kneel as if in prayer. The priest then comes out and once more blesses them."   Source

Independence Day, Paraguay
Celebrations for the anniversary of the independence begin on Flag Day, May 14.

International Day of Families (UN)

International Day of Conscientious Objectors

Buddha's Birthday in Hong Kong, Macau and South Korea (2005)

Peace Officers Memorial Day, United States
To honour police officers killed in line of duty. Police Week includes May 15.

Rice-Planting Festival, Kochi City, Japan (May 15 - 17)
Festivities are held at Kochi City, Wakamiya Hachiman Shrine, and Kyoto Prefecture. The shrine at Wakamiya has a sacred rice paddy field where several hundred men take part in a ritual rice-planting. Women are absolute rulers of the community for three days of festivities. The women fling mud from paddies out of wooden buckets at any men they see.

Mid-May, Tulip Time Festival, Holland, Michigan, USA
Tulip Time has been held every year in mid-May since 1929 and is currently the largest tulip festival in the USA. The festival currently runs from the first Saturday in May through to the second Saturday.

Nakba Day
Nakba Day meaning 'day of the catastrophe' is a annual day of commemoration for the Palestinian people of their displacement and dispossession as a result of their defeat in the 1948 Palestine war, and the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

1948 Palestinian exodus

On which day of the week were you born? Find out here

c. 570 CE Muhammad (also transliterated Mohammad, Mohammed, Muhammed, Mohammed, and, formerly Mahomet, following the Latin; born Halabi, at Mecca [Makkah]), son of Abdallah, of the family of Hashini, and of Amina, of the family of Zuhra, both of the powerful tribe of Koreish (but of a lesser branch). Various dates are given as his possible date of birth, including April 20, January 19 and May 2.

Non-Muslims consider him the founder of Islam. Muslims view him as the final prophet of Islam, which is considered by Muslims to have existed prior to Muhammad, in the same tradition as Judaism and Christianity.

Early Muslim sources report that in 611, at about the age of 40, he experienced a vision. He described it to those close to him as a visit from the Archangel Gabriel, while he was meditating in a cave near Medina, who commanded him to memorize and recite the verses later collected as the Qur'an. It is believed he died on June 8, 632 (or 634) in Medina (Madinah), Saudi Arabia.

His birthday festival is called Maulid an-Nabi (Mawlid, Mawlid an-Nabi or Milad al-Nabi).

A note about the dating of items in Wilson's Almanac

Mawlid an-Nabi (s), Its Proofs, Its Practice, Its History

From Wikipedia: Mawlid, Mawlid an-Nabi or Milad al-Nabi (Arabic: مولد، مولد النبي، ميلاد النبي) is the celebration of the birthday of Muhammad, the final prophet of Islam; also known as "The Seal of the Prophets". Sunni Muslims celebrate this day on the 12th of Rabi'-ul-Awwal in the Islamic calendar; whereas Twelver Shi'a Muslims celebrate this day on the 17th of Rabi'-ul-Awwal, coinciding with the birth date of the sixth Imam, Ja'far al-Sadiq. Muhammad was born around 570 CE and died in 632 CE. During his life, he established Islam as a religion and, in doing so, sought to replace tribal loyalty with equality among Muslims.

It is generally believed that the celebration of Mawlid an-Nabi was first observed around 13th century CE. Conservative Muslims consider the celebration to be an innovation not practiced by the Prophet himself, his companions or amongst the earlier generations of Muslims (see Bidah). However today many Muslims in South-Asia and the South-Asian immigrant community in Western Europe and North America (particularly Barelvees) celebrate the Mawlid with great dedication; processions are held, homes are decorated, delicious food is prepared and distributed, stories about the life of Prophet Muhammad are narrated by learned people of Islam and poems are recited by children.

While Mawlid is always on the 12^th (Sunni Islam) or 17^th (Shi'a Islam) of Rabi'-ul-Awwal in the Islamic calendar, the date on the Western calendar (the Gregorian calendar) varies from year to year due to differences between the two calendars, since the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar and the Gregorian calendar is a solar calendar. Furthermore, the method used to determine when each Islamic month begins varies from country to country. (For details, please see Islamic calendar.) All future dates listed below are only estimates:

• 2003: May 14 (Sunni), May 19 (Shi'a)
• 2004: May 2, May 7
• 2005: April 21, April 26
• 2006: April 12, April 17
• 2007: March 31, April 5
• 2008: March 20, March 25
• 2009: March 9, March 14
• 2010: February 26, March 3
• 2011: February 15, February 20
• 2012: February 4, February 9
• 2013: January 24, January 29
• 2014: January 13, January 18
• 2015: January 2, January 7
• 2016: December 22, December 27
• 2017: December 11, December 16
• 2018: November 30, December 5
• 2019: November 19, November 24
• 2020: November 8, November 13
• 2021: October 28, November 2

Islamic Holy Days    Mawlid

Mohammed: miracle man

The life of the prophet Mohammed is arguably not as replete with miracles as those of Jesus and his saints, and the Buddha, but many believe that at his birth his mother radiated light seen in distant Syria and that the prophet fed a thousand men with one sheep. Traditionally, too, it has been believed that he made predictions that came true; he read the mind of Jewish enemies about to poison him; the hand of Abu Jahl withered after throwing stones at him, and Mohammed was even saluted by a stone.

"The fundamental doctrine of the Koran is contained in the two articles of belief: 'There is no God but Allah; and Mohammed is his prophet.' The Islamic doctrine of God's nature and attributes coincides with the Christian, insofar as he is by both taught to be the Creator of all things in heaven and earth, who rules and preserves all things, without beginning, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and full of mercy. But it differs in that Jesus is only a prophet and apostle, although his birth is said to be due to a miraculous, divine operation."   Source

"Prophet Muhammad (s) was born in 570 CE in Makkah (Bakka, Baca, Mecca). His father, Abdullah, died several weeks before his birth in Yathrib (Medinah) where he went to visit his father's maternal relatives. His mother died while on the return journey from Medinah at a place called 'Abwa' when he was six years old. He was raised by his paternal grandfather 'Abd al Muttalib (Shaybah) until the age of eight, and after his grandfather's death by Abu Talib, his paternal uncle. 'Abd al Muttalib's mother, Salma, was a native of Medinah and he was born and raised as a young boy in Medinah before his uncle Muttalib