En France

Le 1er mai:
The first day of May in France is La Fête du Travail (Labour Day). It is a public holiday, a day off from work for everyone, with one major exception: florists.  May 1 is also La Fête du Muguet, and it’s traditional to offer one’s loved ones a sprig of lily of the valley (un brin de muguet), symbol of spring and of good luck, especially if the sprig has 13 bellflowers –  « Les noces de muguet » symbolise 13 years of marriage in French folklore.

Le 8 mai:
Victory Day 1945 (V-E Day) celebrates the end of World War 2 in Europe.

Le 29 mai:
L’Ascension. Ascension Day is the 40^th day after Easter and is the Christian holiday that commemorates Christ’s ascension into heaven. Ascension Day is always on a Thursday which means that those who can and want to will usually « faire le pont ».

Dans le monde

Le 3 mai : Journée mondiale du soleil : World Day of the Sun
You can of course use this day to celebrate a specific circus (Cirque du Soleil), a king of France (Le Roi Soleil Louis XIV), your dark glasses (lunettes de soleil), a Tintin book ( Le Temple du Soleil), or the French game equivalent of “What’s the Time, Mr Wolf” (1 2 3 soleil) but, officially, this day draws attention to the great potential of solar energy.

Le 5 mai : Journée mondiale de l’hygiène des mains : World Hand Hygiene Day
Every day has become hand hygiene day since the covid pandemic, but the day has existed since 2009.

Le 6 mai :  Journée internationale sans régime :
What kind of régime? you may well ask. a) Un régime pour maigrir ? b) Un régime d’entraînement ?  c) Un régime de bananes ? d) Un régime à la Poutine ?   The answer is A.  May 6th is World No Diet Day dedicated to promoting body positivity, health at every size, and rejecting the harmful diet culture.
Check out their logo below. Might it be a subtle hijacking of the ‘cordon bleu’ ?

Le 4 mai : Journée mondiale de rire : World Laughter Day
Always the first Sunday in May. Trois blagues à papa to celebrate.
I was surprised when I heard about the flooding in Paris. Normally, the water is l’eau.
When I was in Paris, I had a terrible accident. Eiffel off a tower.
Anyone can use my French Revolution joke. It’s royalty-free.
Find more jokes HERE.

Le 11 mai : Journée mondiale de l’orgue :  World Organ Day
Second Sunday in May.  When you mention organ day, you have to think of Notre Dame de Paris. The restoration of the Grand Organ and its 5 keyboards & pedals, 8ooo pipes, and 109 stops, the removal of the lead dust caused by the melting cathedral roof was a major challenge. After the restoration work was completed and the organ reassembled, it took 6 months to tune and harmonize the Grand Organ before it could be played again. The harmonization had to be done in the silence of the night.

Le 11 mai :Journée mondiale des éspèces menacées:
World Endangered Species Day
France has 22 types of endangered snails and 3 types of endangered frogs. There are about 200 snail farms in France, but frog farming has been illegal in France since 1980. The 3 to 4000 tons of frogs’ legs eaten per year are imported from Indonesia and China.
But, closer to home, New Caledonia has the Baie des Tortues beach where endangered loggerhead turtles come to lay their eggs. The news is encouraging. In 2009 only 45 females came to nest on the beach.  However, with the help of volunteers, in 2024, this number had risen to 97.

Le 24 mai : Journée mondiale du bricolage :  World DIY Day
Les bricoleurs et les bricoleuses de dimanche don’t have to wait until Sunday. Those little jobs around the house that many complain about, some do to save money and some do for pure pleasure will be ready and waiting on Saturday. In France 70% of women and 82% of men are DIYers with the internet their first source of “how to” information. Now that is a question that is missed off our census forms.

Le 24 mai:  Fête de l’escargot : National Escargot Day
This date seems to be for people around the world who appreciate eating snails. The French have their Fêtes over the first weekend of August.

Le 31 mai: Fête mondiale du jeu:  World Board Games Festival
I believe this can extend to card games as well. I’d like to Learn to Play Belote. Is anyone else interested ?

Le 31 mai est la Journée mondiale sans tabac.  World No Tobacco Day
Je n’ai jamais compris pourquoi le 31 mai est la journée sans tabac alors que le lendemain c’est le 1er joint.
(This is an apophtegme).