You ask where I think the
name of May comes from?
Its origin’s not totally
clear to me.
As a traveler stands unsure
which way to go,
Seeing the paths fan out in
all directions,
To give different reasons:
plenty itself confuses….
Ovid, Book V: Introduction
[According to Ovid, the Muse
Polyhymnia says that the month is named for the goddess Majesty; her sister
Urania claims the month is dedicated to the Senators (maiores), and Calliope
gives the honor to beautiful Maia, the mother of the god Mercury.]
Then came fair May, the
fairest maid on ground
Decked all with dainties of
her seasons pride,
And throwing flow’res out of
her lap around:
Upon two brethren’s
shoulders did she ride,
The twins of Leda; which on
either side
Supported her, like to their
sovereign Queen.
Lord! How all creatures
laughed, when her they spied,
And leapt and danced as they
had ravished been!
And Cupid self about her
fluttred all in green.
Spenser
“May. This month ranked second in the Alban
calendar, third in that of Romulus, fifth in that of Numa. In the first-named calendar it was twenty-two
days in length, thirty-one in that of Romulus, thirty in that of Numa, and
thirty-one again in that of Julius Caesar. The name of this month is supposed by some to have come from
Maia, the mother of the god Hermes, or Mercury. This, however, is based solely on the similarity of the two
words, and the name of May was much more probably given in honor of the Majores
or Maiores, the original Roman Senate… The Saxons called this month Tri-Milchi,
the improved condition of the pastures now enabling the cows to give milk three
times a day.”
William Walsh, Curiosities of Popular Customs (1898) p.
680
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Astronomy for May:
Full Flower Moon on the 5th. EarthSky says that this will be the closest and largest full moon of 2012.
The Eta Aquarid Meteor
Shower will occur in the predawn hours of the 5th and 6th,
but the exceptionally bright full moon will wash most of them out.
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May is half winter and half
summer.
Weather for May:
According to the 12 Days of
Christmas: Clear skies, brilliant
sunshine, and warm.
According to the first 12
days of January: Sunny and less cold.
According to the Ember Days:
Cold and overcast.
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Weather Lore for May:
A swarm of bees in May is
worth a load of hay.
A cool May gives good wine
and much hay.
A cool and windy May causes
the year to fruitful.
A windy May makes a fair
year.
A cold May, a good year.
In the middle of May comes
the tail of winter. [Quite often
true. I've known a frost to come along just after I planted my tomatoes.]
A cold May is kindly, and
fills the barns finely. [That is as
maybe, but I'm more worried about my tomatoes!]
on the other hand
A cold May enriches no one.
Cool weather in May is known
as blackberry winter or dogwood winter.
A hot May makes a fat
churchyard.
A dripping May brings a good
crop of hay.
but
A dry May always brings a
good crop of wheat.
Water in May is bread all
the year.
A leaking May and a warm
June
Bring the harvest very soon.
or
Mist in May, heat in June
Make the harvest come right
soon.
In some places, it is the
opposite:
A dry May and a dripping
June,
Bring all things in tune. [I call it hedging your bets]
If May be cold and wet,
September will be warm and dry (and vice versa).
A storm in May brings ruin
with it.
Thunder in May signifies
scarcity of food and great hunger that year.
The more thunder in May, the
less in August and September
or
May thunder indicates no
thunder during August and September.
5/1 – Hoarfrost on May 1st
indicates a good harvest.
If you go swimming on the
first morning of May before the sun is up, you will not have any contagious
disease during the year. [Contagious, no. Pneumonia, probably.]
If you remove your flannels
on the first day of May, you will not take cold [however, see May 10 below]
If it rains on Philip's and
Jacob's day, a fertile year may be expected (traditional: May 1; new calendar:
May 3)
5/3 – If Holy Cross day is
dry, there will be no rain for six weeks.
If dry be the buck’s horn on
Holyrood morn, ‘tis worth a kist of gold;
But if wet be seen ere
Holyrood e’en, Bad harvest is foretold.
5/6 – An east wind on St.
John’s day presages fine weather for the week.
5/8 – If it rains on the 8th
of May, it foretells a wet harvest.
5/10 – It is dangerous to
take off your winter clothing until the 10th of May.
5/11, 12, 13 – St.
Mamertius, St. Pancras, and St. Servatus do not pass without a frost.
5/13 – Before St. Servatus,
no summer
After St. Servatus, no frost
5/11 – 15 – The Ice Saints:
St. Mamertius, St. Pancras, St. Servatus, St. Boniface, Cold Sophie.
5/17 – As the weather is on
Ascension Day, so may be the entire autumn.
5/17-19 – St. Dunstan brings
a cold blast to blight the apples.
5/27 – Whitsun bright and
clear, will bring a fertile year
on the other hand
Whitsuntide rain is blessing
for the wine.
5/30 - Ember Day – the
weather today foretells the weather of July
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Gardening for May
May brings flocks of pretty
lambs
Skipping by their fleecy
dams.
Plant pumpkin seeds in May
And they will run away.
Plant pumpkin seeds in June
And they will come soon.
A swarm of bees in May
Is worth a load of hay;
A swarm of bees in June
Is worth a silver spoon.
Cassell’s
Illustrated almanac 1871 for May.
Flowers —Tender plants may now be placed out of doors, and cuttings or
seedlings may be removed from the frame to the ground in fine, showery weather.
Propagate heartsease and wallflowers by cuttings, and plant out your dahlias in
holes eighteen inches deep. Look carefully after your creepers, training the young
shoots as soon as they get long enough, and cutting off badly-placed or untidy
growths. You may make layers of fuchsias in the same manner as carnations, as
soon as the stems are well grown, and they will be fine plants in the autumn.
Vegetables—Hoe well between your growing crops; and if you detect the presence of
slugs or other insects, strew soot or lime round about the plants. Continue the
sowing of beans, cabbage, lettuce, mustard and cress, &c.
Fruit—Regulate
the shoots of trained trees, and continue to remove suckers. Check the growth
on vines of young wood, which will, if neglected, absorb the strength of the
trees, and prevent the fruit from coming to maturity. Cut off from strawberries all runners
not required for propagation.
From the 1817 Almanac:
Sow cucumbers in the natural
Ground, as also Purslane and Cabbages; sow Pease and Beans in a moist Soil for
a latter Crop; plant Kidney-Beans for a second, Crop, and transplant Celery
into Drills: How your Winter Crop of Carrots, Beans, Onions, &c. which will
save much labour the succeeding Months.
Sow Turnips, and, if rain comes soon after, it will very much encourage
the Plant. Sow Buck-Wheat and latter
Pease. Weed young Quicksets and
Ivy; fallow your Ground; look well to your sheep, if the Weather proves wet,
for fear of a Rot.
Health for May
The Blood and Humours being
now in Motion, we must be careful to avoid eating salt, strong or stale Meats:
fat People must avoid Excess of Liquors of any Kind.
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Artwork
May.
Engraving by William Hone. The Everyday Book and Table Book, (1838)
p. 538.
May - Watching Sheep. Engraving based on an 11th century
manuscript. William Walsh, Curiosities of
Popular Customs (1898) p. 680
