May 2016
1. May is National Foster Care Month
May is National Foster Care Month, a time to raise awareness on the plight of children and youth in the foster care system. There are approximately 400,000 children and youth in foster care because their own families are unable to provide for their essential well-being. In addition, an estimated 24,000 young people age out of the foster care system each year with limited supports.
2. By the President of the United States of America – A Proclamation
The Congress of the United States established the United States Holocaust Memorial Council to create a living memorial to the victims of the Nazi Holocaust. Its purpose: So mankind will never lose memory of that terrible moment in time when the awful spectre of death camps stained the history of our world.
When America and its allies liberated those haunting places of terror and sick destructiveness, the world came to a vivid and tragic understanding of the evil it faced in those years of the Second World War. Each of those names—Auschwitz, Buchenwald, Dachau, Treblinka and so many others-became synonymous with horror.
The millions of deaths, the gas chambers, the inhuman crematoria, and the thousands of people who somehow survived with lifetime scars are all now part of the conscience of history. Forever must we remember just how precious is civilization, how important is liberty, and how heroic is the human spirit.
Like the genocide of the Armenians before it, and the genocide of the Cambodians which followed it—and like too many other such persecutions of too many other peoples—the lessons of the Holocaust must never be forgotten.
As part of its mandate, the Holocaust Memorial Council has been directed to designate annual Days of Remembrance as a national, civic commemoration of the Holocaust, and to encourage and sponsor appropriate observances throughout the United States. This year, the national Days of Remembrance will be observed on April 26 through May 3.
Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby ask the people of the United States to observe this solemn anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camps, with appropriate study, prayers and commemoration, as a tribute to the spirit of freedom and justice which Americans fought so hard and well to preserve.
In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 22nd day of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eightyone, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fifth.
RONALD REAGAN
Note: The President’s remarks at the first annual commemoration of the Days of Remembrance of Victims of the Holocaust begin on page 396.
Citation: Ronald Reagan: “Proclamation 4838 – Days of Remembrance of Victims of the Holocaust,” April 22, 1981. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://
3. Cinco de Mayo—or the fifth of May—commemorates the Mexican army’s 1862 victory over France at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War (1861-1867). A relatively minor holiday in Mexico, in the United States Cinco de Mayo has evolved into a celebration of Mexican culture and heritage, particularly in areas with large Mexican-American populations. Cinco de Mayo traditions include parades, mariachi music performances and street festivals in cities and towns across Mexico and the United States.
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5. Memorial Day.
Originally called Decoration Day, from the early tradition of decorating graves with flowers, wreaths and flags, Memorial Day is a day for remembrance of those who have died in service to our country. It was first widely observed on May 30, 1868 to commemorate the sacrifices of Civil War soldiers, by proclamation of Gen. John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of former Union sailors and soldiers.
When Is Memorial Day?
In 1971, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act and established that Memorial Day was to be celebrated on the last Monday of May. Several southern states, however, officially celebrate an additional, separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead, sometimes referred to as a Confederate Memorial Day: January 19 in Texas; third Monday in Jan. in Arkansas; fourth Monday in Apr. in Alabama and Mississippi; April 26 in Florida and Georgia; May 10 in North and South Carolina; last Monday in May in Virginia; and June 3 in Louisiana and Tennessee.
Memorial Day is celebrated at Arlington National Cemetery each year with a ceremony in which a small American flag is placed on each grave. Traditionally, the President or Vice President lays a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. About 5,000 people attend the ceremony annually.
5b. Thirteen Folds of the American Flag
I was in the Honor Guard.
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7. For my friend. Fibromyalgia Day Awareness.
8. John Fitzgerald “Jack” Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), commonly referred to by his initials JFK, was an American politician who served as the 35th President of the United States from January 1961 until his assassination in November 1963. The Cuban Missile Crisis, The Bay of Pigs Invasion, the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, the establishment of the Peace Corps, developments in the Space Race, the building of the Berlin Wall, the Trade Expansion Act to lower tariffs, the Civil Rights Movement, the “New Frontier” domestic program, and abolition of the federal death penalty in the District of Columbia all took place during his presidency. Kennedy also avoided any significant increase in the American presence in Vietnam, refusing to commit combat troops and keeping the level of others, mostly military advisors, to only 16,000, compared to the 536,000 troops committed by his successor, Lyndon Johnson, by 1968.
8. Jimmy Stewart Did you know…
According to the early Roman calendar, May was the third month. Later, the ancient Romans used January as the first month and therefore, became the fifth month and it always had 31 days. May was first named for Maia, the Roman goddess of spring and growth. In the North Temperate Zone, may is one of the most beautiful months of the year. Usually, the snow and ice are gone by this time but the hot temperature hasn’t arrived yet. In May, the first garden begins to sprout and the wild flowers start to bloom and the trees and grasses turn green. Wild flowers such as forsythia, dogwood, violets, and jack-in-the-box bloom and many birds build their nests to sit on the eggs that will soon hatch.
Below are some fun facts about May:
1. The birthstone for May is the emerald which represents success or love.
2. The zodiac sign for May are Taurus (April 20 – May 20) and Gemini (May 21 – June 20)
3. The birth flower for May is the Crataegus monogyna and the Lily of the Valley.
4. On May 1, 1931, the Empire State Building was officially opened.
5. Armed Forces Day – celebrated the third Saturday of May
6. Mother’s Day – celebrated on the second Sunday of May
7. Memorial Day – celebrated on the last Monday in May.
8. May 5 – Cinco De Mayo
9. On the first Saturday in May, the Kentucky Derby takes place.
10. On May 11, 1858, Minnesota was admitted to the Union.
11. On May 14, 1804, Lewis and Clark, the great explorers began their trip up the Missouri River.
12. On May 14, 1948, the last British troops left Palestine which led to Israel becoming an independent country.
13. On May 15, 1918, the first regular airmail service began in the United States.
14. On May 20, 1862, Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act.
15. On May 20, 1932, the first solo flight by a woman across the Atlantic Ocean was made by Amelia Earhart.
16. On May 23, 1788, South Carolina became the eighth state.
17. On May 24, 1607, the first permanent English settlement in America was established in Jamestown, VA.
18. On May 27, 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge was opened in San Francisco.
19. On May 29, 1790, Rhode Island became the 13th state.
20. On May 29, 1848, Wisconsin became the 30th state.
4. The Original Mother’s Day Proclamation
Julia Ward
While countries around the world celebrate their own Mother’s Day at different times throughout the year, several countries, including the United States, Italy, Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, and Turkey celebrate it on the second Sunday of May.
In the United States, the origins of the official holiday go back to 1870, when Julia Ward Howe – an abolitionist best remembered as the poet who wrote “Battle Hymn of the Republic” – worked to establish a Mother’s Peace Day. Howe dedicated the celebration to the eradication of war, and organized festivities in Boston for years.
In 1907, Anna Jarvis, of Philadelphia, began the campaign to have Mother’s Day officially recognized, and in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson did this, proclaiming it a national holiday and a “public expression of our love and reverence for all mothers.”
Today’s commercialized celebration of candy, flowers, gift certificates, and lavish meals at restaurants bears little resemblance to Howe’s original idea.
the crafty lady in combat boots 