The world is multicultural, multilingual, and multiethnic. The Earth is an abode to mankind, flora, fauna, microorganisms and much more. With all this, come the seasons of spring, winter, autumn, fall, and summer.
The summer period comprises of the months: April, May, June, July, and August. As we currently experience the summer month of May, we celebrate the month of May.
The 5th Month: MAY
As per the Gregorian and Julian calendar, the term May is derived from the name of a Greek Goddess: Maia. It is also picked up after the Roman goddess: Bona Dea, the goddess of fertility.
History: May was traditionally the third month of the calendar. The Roman calendar gave May the 3rd place in the traditional 10-month calendar. The jump from 3rd place to 5th was because of the additions of the months: January and February as the 1st and 2nd month of the calendar.
The month is significant for various reasons:
- It is associated with the flowering season. It is said that in May, all plants reach their capacity to start blooming and producing their individual fruits.
- May is also the month of holiday observances all over the world. The events include World Red Cross Red Crescent Day, World Asthma Day, International Labor Day, World Press Freedom Day, and more.
International Nurses Day: 12 May
Florence Nightingale or Anna Neagle (by birth) is the woman behind the International Nurses Day. During the Russian Crimean War of 1853 (military conflict in opposition to the Ottoman Empire and its allies), she undertook the task of training and managing the nurses. As the times were of war and wounded soldiers required timely checkups, Nightingale came up as a heroic character who helped in organizing the best of the nurses for the war-affected.
She became an icon of the Victorian culture, giving the field of nursing a pedestal of being a respectable career.
According to the historians, her achievements were magnificent and her work was worth an applaud as she sowed the seeds for the foundation of nursing as a professional field for women. We see her contribution in the establishment of the world’s first secular nursing school at Londons St. Thomas Hospital in 1860.
The ICN or International Council of Nurses honors the day with by launching its yearly journal: Nurses-A Voice to lead-Health for All. The journal gives us a yearly insight into the field of nursing and also supplements us with the required evidence in the form of case studies.
