May 2021
Time to bloom. Our marketing briefing includes a printable calendar of popular holidays and occasions, consumer insights and marketing resources.
Photo offered for free use by Ales Krivec on Unsplash
May Holidays & Observances
| Asian Pacific American Heritage Month | #asianpacificamericanheritagemonth | |||
| Jewish American Heritage Month | #jewishamericanheritagemonth | |||
| 1 | Sa | International Worker's Day | #intworkersday | |
| May Day | #mayday | |||
| 2 | Su | 🌎 | World Tuna Day | #worldtunaday |
| 3 | M | 🌎 | World Press Freedom Day | #WPFD2021 |
| 4 | Tu | International Firefighter's Day | #InternationalFirefightersDay | |
| National Teacher Day | #thankateacher | |||
| Star Wars Day | #starwarsday #maythe4th | |||
| World Asthma Day | #worldasthmaday | |||
| 5 | W | Cinco De Mayo | #cincodemayo | |
| 6 | Th | 🌎 | UN Global Road Safety Week (May 6-12) | #roadsafetyweek |
| National Nurses Day | #nursesday | |||
| 7 | F | Space Day | #spaceday | |
| World Password Day | #worldpasswordday | |||
| 8 | Sa | Laylat Ul-Qadr | #LaylatUlQadr | |
| 🌎 | World Migratory Bird Day | #migratorybirdday | ||
| 🌎 | Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for Those Who Lost Their Lives During the Second World War (May 8-9) | #worldwar2remembrance | ||
| 9 | Su | Mother's Day | #mothersday | |
| Europe Day | #europeday | |||
| 10 | M | 🌎 | International Day of Argania | #argania |
| 11 | Tu | |||
| 12 | W | National Limerick Day | #nationallimerickday | |
| National Receptionist Day | #nationalreceptionistday | |||
| 13 | Th | Ascension Day - Christian | #ascensionday | |
| Eid Al-Fitr - Islamic | #EidAlFitr | |||
| 14 | F | |||
| 15 | Sa | 🌎 | International Day of Families | #familyday |
| 16 | Su | 🌎 | International Day of Living Together in Peace | #dayoflivingtogetherinpeace |
| 🌎 | International Day of Light | #internationaldayoflight | ||
| Love a Tree Day | #loveatreeday | |||
| 17 | M | Shavuot (May 17-18) | #shavuot | |
| 🌎 | World Telecommunication and Information Society Day | #wtisd | ||
| Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia | #IDAHOT2021 | |||
| 18 | Tu | Wear Your Pajamas to Work Day | #wearyourpajamastoworkday | |
| 19 | W | Red Nose Day | #rednoseday | |
| 20 | Th | 🌎 | World Bee Day | #worldbeeday |
| 21 | F | 🌎 | International Tea Day | #teaday |
| 🌎 | World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development | #culturaldiversity | ||
| National Bike to Work Day | #btwd | |||
| Endangered Species Day | #endangeredspeciesday | |||
| National Memo Day | #nationalmemoday | |||
| 22 | Sa | 🌎 | International Day for Biological Diversity | #dayforbiologicaldiversity |
| 23 | Su | 🌎 | International Day to End Obstetric Fistula | #daytoendobstetricfistula |
| Declaration of the Báb - Bahá’í | #declarationofthebáb | |||
| Pentecost - Christian | #pentecost | |||
| 24 | M | National Scavenger Hunt Day | #nationalscavengerhuntday | |
| 25 | Tu | 🌎 | Week of Solidarity With the Peoples of Non-Self Governing Territories (May 25-31) | #WorldDayforCulturalDiversity |
| 26 | W | 🌎 | Vesak, The Day of the Full Moon - Buddhist | #vesak |
| 27 | Th | |||
| 28 | F | Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh - Bahá’í | #AscensionofBaháulláh | |
| Heat Awareness Day | #nofryday | |||
| Hamburger Day | #hamburgerday | |||
| 29 | Sa | 🌎 | International Day of UN Peacekeepers | #internationaldayofunpeacekeepers |
| Paperclip Day | #paperclipday | |||
| 30 | Su | All Saints' Day - Eastern Christian | #allsaintsday | |
| 31 | M | 🇺🇸 | Memorial Day | #memorialday |
| 🌎 | World No-Tobacco Day | #notobacco | ||
| 🇺🇸 | United States Federal Holiday | |||
| 🌎 | United Nations Observance |
About May
May is the 5th month of the year and the last month of spring.
Top Consumer Spending Events
May is a busy retail month with consumers planning, shopping, and prepping for Mother’s Day, Graduation Season and Father’s Day.
View the planners below for insights and resources:
Mother’s Day
4th largest consumer spending event of the year //Mother's Day occurs annually on the second Sunday of May and falls on May 9 in 2021. It began being celebrated in the United States in the early 20th century at the initiative of Anna Jarvis who held a memorial for her...
Graduation Season
8th largest consumer spending event of the year //Late spring issues in graduation season as folks gather to celebrate their high school and college graduates. We are expecting those celebrations to take place mainly outdoors as we will still be in the midst of the...
Father’s Day
7th largest consumer spending event of the year // Father's Day occurs annually on the third Sunday of June and falls on June 20th in 2021. It was first celebrated in the United States in 1910 at the YMCA in Spokane, Washington by Sonora Smart Dodd. Her father,...
May Symbology
It’s always someone’s birthday. Help your customers make their gifts more meaningful by featuring May symbology.
- May’s birthstone is the emerald.
- Its birth flowers are the lily of the valley and common hawthorn.
- The zodiac signs for the month of April are Taurus (bull) until May 19 and Gemini (twin) May 20 onwards.
Printable May Calendar
Click to download and print a PDF of the May calendar with all holidays and occasions listed above.
If you embed on your site, we simply ask for credit and a link back → May Calendar by Annum.
Regarding the Holidays and Occasions We Have Chosen
Our goal in creation of these calendars is to make marketing planning easier. So, in order to keep things simple we have chosen to focus on the top 12 consumer spending events as identified by the National Retail Federation; U.S. Federal Holidays; significant religious, ethnic and cultural holidays that represent the diversity of the U.S. population as identified by ADL; and popular hashtag holidays that provide an opportunity for a natural business tie-in.
If you are interested in finding more occasions to commemorate here are a few resources:
- Full list of United Nations International Days, Weeks, Years, Decades
- National Day Calendar tracks nearly 1500 national days, weeks, and months
- National Today has a search function to find days that align with your brand and category
Note that Bahá’í, Jewish and Islamic holidays begin at sundown the previous day and end at sundown on the date listed.
Stay focused and on schedule with your marketing efforts.
