A birthday with calendar stories, traditions, people and reasons to keep exploring.
May 1 is day 121 of a common year and carries the traditional birthday symbols associated with May: Emerald and Lily of the Valley & Hawthorn.
May 1 is day 121 of a common year and carries the traditional birthday symbols associated with May: Emerald and Lily of the Valley & Hawthorn.
This profile brings together calendar context, birthday traditions and verified material connected with May 1.
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Explore how birthstones became associated with calendar months and the traditions connected with May.
Explore birthstones →Discover the flower traditions linked with May and how birth flowers became part of modern birthday culture.
Explore birth flowers →The same calendar date has opposite seasonal settings in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
Explore calendar stories →Cakes, candles, songs and milestone ages vary across families and cultures.
Traditions around the world →There is no single universal way to mark a birthday. Customs differ by family, community and country, which is part of what makes birthday culture so interesting.
A date worth exploring
May 1 is day 121 of a common year and carries the traditional birthday symbols associated with May: Emerald and Lily of the Valley & Hawthorn.
Explore this birthday →Japanese adventurer Naomi Uemura reached the North Pole alone.
ExplorationFidel Castro publicly declared Cuba a socialist state.
WorldGerman radio announced the death of Adolf Hitler as World War II in Europe neared its end.
WorldThe All-China Federation of Trade Unions was founded.
LabourBritain issued the Penny Black, the world’s first adhesive postage stamp for public use.
CommunicationIsraeli professional tennis player who competed on the international tour.
American country singer and actor with a long-running recording career.
American novelist, essayist and screenwriter associated with 1960s counterculture.
American novelist best known for Catch-22.
The Duke of Wellington, British commander and later prime minister.
May 1 is day 121 of a common year, with 244 days remaining after it. Its traditional May birthday associations include Emerald and Lily of the Valley & Hawthorn.
Discover more →Choose a birth year to open a curated snapshot of music, film, technology, sport and culture.
May 1 connects you with a date in the calendar, traditions, history and people whose lives began on the same day. Add your birth year to make the journey personal.