All - Leep Calendar

The Giro d'Italia is one of the triple crowns of bicycle racing (The Tour de France and the Vuelta a España are the other two). First run in 1909, the bicycle race covers thousands of miles and can start in another country.

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May

Green Up Day (US-VT): May 7

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It all started in 1969 when Burlington Free Press reporter Robert Babcock approached then governor Deane Davis with an idea: set aside one day a year to clean up Vermont's roads. By 1970 it became a reality. In the 1980s a poster contest was added and by 2000 corporate sponsors began taking part. In 2014 Green Up became a recognized charity in the state and 2020 will see Green Up's 50th Anniversary.

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May

Iris Festival (BE): May 7-8

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The Brussels Capital Region celebrates the Iris Day (May 8) each year at the beginning of May with a festival. The Iris Festival occurs over a weekend and includes free concerts and activities. The iris is associated with faith, wisdom, cherished friendship, hope, valor, compliments, promises of love, and wisdom. It is the perfect flower to give someone you are newly dating, a college graduate, returning military and special friends.

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May

Kentucky Derby (US-KY): May 7

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The Kentucky Derby falls on the first Saturday of May in Louisville, Kentucky. Known by many names such as “The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports”, “The Run for the Roses” or “The Fastest Two Minutes in Sports”, the Kentucky Derby usually lasts for two minutes. The track length and many of the traditions for this race were modeled after the Epson Derby in England. The winning horse receives a blanket of roses. The Kentucky Derby is the first race of the American Triple Crown; the others are the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes.

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May

Learn to Ride a Bike Day: May 7

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May is National Bike Month in the United States. The first Saturday in May has been set aside as Learn to Ride a Bike Day since 2018. Adults and children are included to give bike riding a spin.

Africa

May

Lowcountry Shrimp Festival, South Carolina: May 7

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In the summer of 1977, the Archibald Rutledge Academy sponsored the first Lowcountry Shrimp Festival. The event focuses on the blessing of the village’s shrimping fleet as local shrimp boat captains and crews prepared for the upcoming shrimp season. Trawlers, festooned with colorful flags and pennants, slowly parade down Jeremy Creek to receive the prayers of the local clergy for a safe and bountiful season. This tradition will be continued with this year’s festival when today’s shrimp fleet lines up to be blessed. Following the blessing a floral wreath will be laid upon the waters as a memorial to those who have been lost at sea. The Blessing of the Fleet will be at 3:00.

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May

Multiple Sclerosis Carnation Days (CA): May 7-8

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The carnation has long been associated with hope and finding a cure to the disease of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Canadians have one of the highest rates of multiple sclerosis in the world and it is the most common neurological disease affecting young adults in Canada. Women are more than three times as likely to develop MS as men. MS can cause loss of balance, impaired speech, extreme fatigue, double vision and paralysis. French neurologist, Dr. Jean-Martin Charcot first identified the disease in 1868. The cause of MS is still unknown.

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May

Roast Leg of Lamb Day: May 7

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Like most of the food holidays, Roast Leg of Lamb Day is an unofficial food event with no sponsor. But that's okay, because this iconic dish is a wonderful alternative to chicken or pork. We've included a few recipes for you below in the video section. Try some out. If you've never had lamb, this will be a treat!

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May

Scrapbooking Day, Ntl.: May

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National Scrapbooking Day was created in 1994 by Creative Memories. Today it is an internationally observed day by practitioners of the hobby and may include contests, get-togethers and other locally organized events. Scrapbooking (also referred to as memory keeping) has existed since the 15th Century where homemade books were used for journaling, drawing and saving knickknacks for the family record. At the time these books were referred to as Commonplace books and each was usually created to mark a specific period of time like a year. In later centuries scrapbooks would become known as friendship books, family albums and clipping books. Typical memorabilia included in scrapbooks is newspaper articles, ticket stubs, photographs, stickers, journal entries, drawings, report cards, ribbons, locks of hair, first dollar (or in this writer’s case) first nickel earned. Often childhood drawings will be included as well. The modern day scrapbook, which is now a worldwide multi-billion dollar industry start in 1980 by Marielen W. Christensen in Utah. Part of the Mormon tradition is tracing one’s family tree and documenting your family’s journey. This task usually falls to the mother. Unlike previous generations, Christensen decided to embellish her photo album pages with a ribbon, artwork, captions and other frills and bling. After creating over 50 of these three ring binders she exhibited these at the World Conference on Records in 1980. Based upon the feedback from those attending, she wrote a book entitled “Keeping Memories Alive” and opened the first store dedicated to scrapbooking in Spanish Fork Utah in 1981. That store is still open today. With the advent of digital photography, easy accessibility of scanners and Drag and Drop technology, scrapbooking moved from the physical world into the digital world during the early 2000s. Popular social media websites grew from this trend including Pinterest and Instagram. Today many news and information sites copy the same idea of embellished layout with short commentary in how they present themselves. Scrapbooking has played a critical role in safeguarding the family history of generations. Today, thanks to digital technology, it is a custom practiced and enjoyed throughout the world. The industry did experience a sharp decline in popularity in the late 2000s, most likely attributed to the Great Recession. Scrapbooking can be quite expensive if one chooses to purchase professional embellishment.

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May

Triple Crown: May 7-June 5

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Postponed 2020 due to COVID-19. The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing is a title that's awarded to a three-year-old thoroughbred horse who wins the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes. The Kentucky Derby is the youngest race, originating in 1875. The Triple Crown Trophy came into being in 1950, but it was also awarded to all the previous winners after the fact, making the first Triple Crown winner Sir Barton in 1919.

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May

Alcohol & Other Drug-Related Birth Defects Week, Ntl.: May 8-14

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Each May, NCADD and National Network of Affiliates play a major and vital role across the US in educating people, especially women, about the dangers of consuming alcohol and using drugs during pregnancy. An educated mother or father can prevent the fate many newborns face. This month is about educating people to the facts. Fetal alcohol syndrome disorders (FASD), the leading known cause of developmental disabilities in newborns (historically known as mental retardation) stems from maternal alcoholism or heavy drinking during pregnancy. ALCOHOL Features of FASD include growth deficiency before and after birth, developmental delays, intellectual challenges, behavioral problems, changes in facial features such as a flattened mid-face, small jaw and/or a thin upper lip. COCAINE Perinatal cocaine exposure can result in obstetrical complications such as low birth weight, smaller head circumference, abnormal neonatal behavior and cerebral infarction at birth. Children with this exposure are easily distracted, passive and face a variety of visual and perceptual problems and difficulties with fine motor skills. Alcohol and Drug use During Pregnancy: In the US: 20% (about 1 million) of pregnant women smoke cigarettes; 18% (about 750,000) women drink alcohol during pregnancy; 6% (225,000) women use an illicit drug at least once while carrying a child to term.

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May

Amyloidosis Day, Ntl. (AU): May 8

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Amyloidosis is a condition in which a protein 'amyloid' builds up in your tissues and organs. This can cause organ failure and kill you. It's a rare condition, but it can only be maintained, not cured. National Amyloidosis Day seeks to raise awareness about this condition and the treatments available.

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May

Buddha Day (CN): May 8

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Buddha Day in China marks the birthday of Prince Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha as it relates to the Chinese calendar on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month. This day is marked in other countries as Vesak and Buddha Purnima on different days.

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May

Buddha Purnima (H): May 8

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Buddha Purnima is an important day for Buddhists and Hindus. This holiday commemorates the birth, enlightenment and death of Gautama Buddha and always falls on the falls full moon night in the month of Vaisakha of the Hindu calendar. In the Gregorian calendar, this occurs in April or May. Lord Buddha was the founder of the Buddhist religion and is said to be the ninth avatar of Vishnu. The main celebrations of Buddha jayanti take place in Bodh Gaya (Bihar, India). Bodh Gaya is the most sacred place for Buddhists. Temples are decorated and prayers, sermons and non-stop recitations of Buddhist scriptures resonate in monasteries, religious halls and homes. PLEASE NOTE: We use the Indian Civil Calendar, which is the official holiday calendar in India, the largest Hindu nation. The Hindu faith has many calendars, each specific to different regions and tribes with dates and celebrations marked by differing positions of the sun, moon and stars. Names of months and holidays, as well as the corresponding dates in the Gregorian Calendar, vary widely from one calendar to the next. Use our dates as a baseline. Find out which of the dozens of Hindu calendars is used in the region you live or plan to visit if you are looking to attend or witness a specific observance.

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May

Coca Cola® Day (1886): May 8

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Coca-Cola® Day celebrates the world’s best known soft drink and one of the most recognized brands in the world. It all began in on this day in 1886 when the curiosity of an Atlanta pharmacist, Dr. John S. Pemberton, led him to create a distinctive tasting soft drink that could be sold at soda fountains. He created a flavored syrup including extract of coca leaves and kola nuts, added for medicinal purposes, of course (it was a pharmacy). Pemberton took this syrup to his neighborhood pharmacy, where it was mixed with carbonated water and deemed “excellent” by those who sampled it. Dr. Pemberton’s partner and bookkeeper, Frank M. Robinson, is credited with naming the beverage “Coca‑Cola” as well as designing the trademarked, distinct script, still used today. Prior to his death in 1888, just two years after creating what was to become the world’s #1-selling sparkling beverage, Dr. Pemberton sold portions of his business to various parties, with the majority of the interest sold to Atlanta businessman, Asa G. Candler. Under Mr. Candler’s leadership, distribution of Coca‑Cola expanded to soda fountains beyond Atlanta. In 1894, impressed by the growing demand for Coca‑Cola and the desire to make the beverage portable, Joseph Biedenharn installed bottling machinery in the rear of his Mississippi soda fountain, becoming the first to put Coca‑Cola in bottles. Large scale bottling was made possible just five years later, when in 1899, three enterprising businessmen in Chattanooga, Tennessee secured exclusive rights to bottle and sell Coca‑Cola. The three entrepreneurs purchased the bottling rights from Asa Candler for just $1. Benjamin Thomas, Joseph Whitehead and John Lupton developed what became the Coca‑Cola worldwide bottling system. Though the original recipe for Coca-Cola included cocaine, (the amount of which has never been disclosed), and this ingredient was instrumental to naming the product, as of 1929, Coca-Cola has been completely narcotics free.

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