Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Birthday ALARM

Country singer Tim McGraw is 40.

Actor Dann Florek (Law and Order: SVU ) is 56.
Singer-songwriter Ray Parker Jr. is 53.
Actress Maia Morgenstern (The Passion of the Christ ) is 45.
Country singer Wayne Hancock is 42.
Bassist Johnny Colt (Black Crowes) is 41.
Actor Charlie Schlatter (Diagnosis Murder ) is 41.
Bassist D'Arcy Wretzky (Smashing Pumpkins) is 39.
Actor Darius McCrary (Family Matters ) is 31.

SORTA LONG FUN FACT: May Day is May 1, and refers to any of several holidays celebrated on this day. May 1 was a traditional summer holiday in many pre-Christian European pagan cultures, and many elements of these holidays are still celebrated on May 1 today, such as the Maypole. While February 1 was the first day of Spring, May 1 was the first day of summer: hence, the summer solstice on June 25 (now the 22nd) was "midsummer."

In the Roman Catholic tradition, May is observed as Mary's month, and May Day is usually a celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In this connection, Mary's head (in works of art, school skits, etc.) will often be adorned with flowers. Another May Day tradition (fading in popularity since the late 20th century) is the giving of May baskets, small baskets of candy and/or flowers, usually left anonymously on neighbors' doorsteps.

In the United States, May Day is officially observed as
Loyalty Day.

3 comments:

mark said...

so i can't help but wonder... did the May Day goodie-basket influence the eventual tradition of the Easter basket?

dino said...

good question, mark. does that mean we're all pagan, in the end?

Anonymous said...

yes dino, we're all pagan. most christian holidays came from something pagan, like jesus' birthday being in december. it's thought that jesus was actually born in the summer, but the winter date coincided with a pagan holiday.