Older Americans Month

When Older Americans Month was established in 1963, only 17 million living Americans had reached their 65th birthday. About a third of older Americans lived in poverty and there were […]

Mental Health Awareness Month

The month of May has been recognized as Mental Health Awareness Month in the United States since 1949. It was founded by the Mental Health America organization (then known as the National […]

National Day of Prayer

The very first day of prayer was declared in 1775 by the Continental Congress, which asked people to pray for the fledgling nation. This initial declaration gradually evolved into two formalized events. In 1863 President Lincoln oversaw the naming of the autumnal observance of prayer and thanks as Thanksgiving Day. Almost a century later President […]

World Press Freedom Day

World Press Freedom Day happens yearly on May 3, and acts as a reminder to governments of the need to respect their commitment to press freedom. It is also a […]

World Press Freedom Day

World Press Freedom Day happens yearly on May 3, and acts as a reminder to governments of the need to respect their commitment to press freedom. It is also a […]

Orthodox Easter 2024

Known as Pascha, the Greek word for “passover,” Easter in the Orthodox Church celebrates “the eternal Passover from death to life from earth heaven.” Great Lent, the church’s strictest time of fasting, […]

Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo, (Spanish: “Fifth of May”) also called Anniversary of the Battle of Puebla, holiday celebrated in parts of Mexico and the United States in honor of a military victory in 1862 over the French […]

National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls

In 2017, Senators Steve Daines and Jon Tester from Montana introduced a resolution recognizing May 5, as a National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls. It was in response to the murder of Hanna Harris on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation and other abductions and killings of Native women across the […]

Burke Act (1906)

In 1906, the Burke Act was passed, which authorized the secretary of the interior to decide whether an Indian person was “competent” to manage his or her lands. If the Indian person was deemed “competent,” the secretary could take the land out of trust and the land would become taxable. The secretary of the interior […]

Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for Those Who Lost Their Lives during the Second World War

By resolution 59/26 of 22 November 2004, the UN General Assembly declared 8–9 May as a time of remembrance and reconciliation and, while recognizing that Member States may have individual days of victory, liberation and commemoration, invited all Member States, organizations of the United Nations System, non-governmental organizations and individuals to observe annually either one or both […]