Quantcast
Daily Calendar for Monday, May 1, 2023 | Almanac.com

Daily Calendar for Monday, May 1, 2023

May is named for the Roman goddess Maia, who oversaw the growth of plants.

Ancient spring rites that related human fertility to crop fertility gave birth to most modern May Day festivities. May 1 is the traditional day to crown the May queen, dance around the maypole, perform mummers’ plays, and generally celebrate the return of spring. Although our Pilgrim fathers were horrified by these reminders of a pagan past and outlawed all such activities, the maypole dance remains an enduring event. In Great Britain, the custom of β€œbringing in the May” involves gathering β€œknots,” or branches with buds, on the eve or early morning of May 1. In England, a favorite branch is hawthorn. In Scotland and Wales, people choose the rowan, or mountain ash. In North America, we often select forsythia, lilac, or pussy willow branches to bring spring and the prospect of new life into our homes. Learn more about May Day here!

Question of the Day

I have a waterfall in my garden that allows for plants to be set out at the top of it near the running water. My problem is that the plants I have used keep drowning, and I have no way to cut off the water flow without stopping the waterfall. Are there any plants (small, please) that thrive in areas of abundant moisture?
Good flowers for the rim of a pool or waterfall are astilbes, cardinal flower, Japanese and Siberian irises, loosestrife, marsh marigold, rose mallow, daylilies, and perennial candelabra-type primroses. Water plants include water lilies, water hyacinths, water poppies, and water snowflakes, although the latter three are not winter hardy.

Advice of the Day

A snowstorm in May is worth a wagon load of hay.

Home Hint of the Day

When sharpening a knife, position it so that when you stroke the stone, the edge of the knife is leading. If you stroke it with the edge trailing, it will leave a fine feather edge that will not stand up to use.

Word of the Day

Tidy
Being in proper time; timely; seasonable; favorable; as, tidy weather. Arranged in good order; orderly; appropriate; neat; kept in proper.

Puzzle of the Day

What do these sentences have in common?Joe packed my sledge with five boxes of frozen quail.Back in my quaint garden, jaunty zinnias vie with flaunting phlox.
Both contain all 26 letters of the alphabet.

Died

  • Pope Pius V –
  • Dr. David Livingstone (explorer, missionary) –
  • Spike Jones (band leader, musician, & comedian) –

Born

  • Benjamin Henry Latrobe (architect) –
  • Glenn Ford (actor) –
  • Jack Paar (entertainer) –
  • Joseph Heller (novelist) –
  • Rita Coolidge (singer) –
  • Joanna Lumley (actress) –
  • Tim McGraw (country singer) –
  • Ariel Gade (actress) –

Events

  • Great Britain formed–
  • Electric streetlights installed in Ottawa, Ontario–
  • Scofield Mine disaster occurred in Utah–
  • The Empire State Building was dedicated in New York City–
  • Gwendolyn Brooks became the first African American to win a Pulitzer Prize–
  • Existence of Van Allen radiation belts announced–
  • Harper Lee won Pulitzer Prize for her novel, To Kill a Mockingbird–
  • Elvis Presley married Priscilla Beaulieu in Las Vegas–

Weather

  • Polebridge, Montana, had a temperature of -5 degrees F–
  • Ice out, Dublin Lake in Dublin, New Hampshire (home of The Old Farmer’s Almanac)–

Explore Other Dates on the Calendar