May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of seven months with the length of 31 days. May is a month of autumn in the Southern Hemisphere and spring in the Northern Hemisphere (Summer in Europe). Therefore May in the Southern Hemisphere is the seasonal equivalent of November in the Northern Hemisphere and vice versa.
May symbols: The birthstone of May is the emerald which is emblematic of love and success. The May birth flower is the Lily of the Valley and the Crataegus monogyna. The mayflower Epigaea repens is a North American harbinger of May, and the floral emblem of both Nova Scotia and Massachusetts. Its native range extends from Newfoundland south to Florida, west to Kentucky in the southern range, and to Northwest Territories in the north. The zodiac signs for the month of May are Taurus (until May 20) and Gemini (May 21 onwards).
Historical Events for May, 1944
Day of Week 1st » World War II: Two hundred Communist prisoners are shot by the Germans at Kaisariani in Athens, Greece in reprisal for the killing of General Franz Krech by partisans at Molaoi.
Day of Week 5th » German troops execute 216 civilians in the village of Kleisoura, Kastoria called Kleisoura in Greece
Day of Week 11th » World War II: The Allies of World War II named Allies begin a major offensive against the Axis Powers on the Gustav Line.
Day of Week 18th » World War II: Battle of Monte Cassino Conclusion after seven days of the fourth battle as Fallschirmjäger (World War II) or German paratroopers evacuate Monte Cassino.
18th » Deportation of Crimean Tatars by the Soviet Union government.
16th » Billy Cobham, Panamanian-American drummer, composer, and bandleader (Mahavishnu Orchestra, New York Jazz Quartet, Jazz Is Dead, and Bobby and the Midnites)
16th » Antal Nagy (footballer born 1944) called Antal Nagy, Hungarian footballer