In the Phoenix area and the Sonoran Desert, May is when the Saguaro Cacti bloom. They have to be well over 40 or 50 years old before they bloom!
Besides Mother’s Day, and Memorial Day, what else will be trending on social media in May?
May Observance and Awareness Days

I publish this every month so you can plan ahead how you can “spin” your marketing message to take advantage of what’s trending on social media.
These are just some of the observance and awareness days. For the full list, visit these sites:
These calendars offer some links to details on the observances that might help you if you’re blogging.
How to use this list:
Peruse the list and take note of any interesting days or awareness/observances that relate to your business or is fun or generic enough that you an spin your marketing message around it. Get creative and have fun! Write a blog post and schedule it out to go on that day.
The months’ observances usually trend (many people are talking about it) in the first few days of the month. Weeks tend to trend on Sunday or Monday and days start early in the morning depending if it’s a world/global observance or national. So, consider time zones when scheduling. If you miss the first days of the month, even though it might not be “trending” at the time, publish a post anyway as long as it’s in the month of the observance.
Schedule out tweets using Sendible (affiliate link) And don’t forget those silly, but useful hashtags that trend on X regularly!
Most of these observances will have hashtags. Be careful with apostrophes, hyphens, and other special characters. Hashtags work with only with letters and numbers. As soon as you add a space or a symbol, it ends the hashtag.
What’s Going to be Trending in May:
Month-long May Observances:
In no special order…
- ALS Awareness Month
- Better Sleep Month
- Better Speech and Language Month
- Celiac Disease Awareness Month
- Clean Air Month
- Correct Your Posture Month
- National Dental Care Awareness Month
- National Arthritis Month
- National Stroke Awareness Month
- National Military Appreciation Month
- National Motorcycle Awareness Month
- National Mental Health Awareness Month
- National Wildfire Awareness Month
- National Brain Cancer and Brain Tumor Awareness Month
- National Foster Care Month
- Older Americans Month
- National Barbecue Month
- National Bike Month
- National Blood Pressure Education Month
- National Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month
- National Egg Month
- National Get Caught Reading Month
- National Hamburger Month
- National Inventors Month
- National Lyme Disease Awareness Month
- National Mediterranean Diet Month
- National Photography Month
- National Preservation Month
- National Salad Month
- National Salsa Month
- Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
- National Water Safety Month
- Melanoma and Skin Cancer Awareness Month
- National Asthma Month
- Jewish American Heritage Month
- Global Employee Health and Fitness Month
May Weeks:
- Small Business Week – First Week in May
- National Wildflower Week: First Full Week of May
- Choose Privacy Week: First Full Week of May
- Screen-Free Week: First Full Week of May
- Nurses Week: May 6th – May 12th (Florence Nightingale’s birthday)
- National Pet Week – First Week in May
- North American Occupational Safety & Health Week – First Sunday through Saturday of May
- Public Service Recognition Week – Begins First Sunday of May
- National Hospital Week – First Full Week of May
- Teacher Appreciation Week – First Monday through Friday in May
- National Etiquette Week – Begins the Monday of the Second Full Week
- National Salvation Army Week – Second Full Week
- Bike to Work Week – Second Work Week
- Police Week: Week of May 15th
- Public Works Week: Week of May 15th
- National Emergency Medical Services Week: Third Full Week of May
- American Craft Beer Week – 2nd Full Week in May
May Days:
1 – May Day
National Day of Prayer – 1st Thursday in May
National Loyalty Day
Global Love Day
International Workers’ Day
Law Day
Join Hands Day
School Principals’ Day
Silver Star Service Banner Day
National Mother Goose Day
World Laughter Day – we can definitely use this!
2 – National Life Insurance Day
World Tuna Day
National Space Day – 1st Friday in May
3 – World Press Freedom Day — Freedom of the Press is something that we cannot afford to lose!
World Asthma Day
Play Outside Day – 1st Saturday of every month
Kentucky Derby – 1st Saturday of May
National Specially-abled Pets Day
National Start Seeing Monarchs (Butterflies) Day – 1st Saturday in May
National Lemonade Day – 1st Saturday in May
Space Day
4 – Star Wars Day (“May the 4th be with you”)
National Renewal Day
Bird Day
International Firefighters Day
National Self-Employed Day — Yay! Entrepreneurs!
National Day of Reason
Join Hands Day
National Fitness Day
National Infertility Survival Day – Sunday before Mother’s Day
5 – Cinco de Mayo
World Hand Hygiene Day
African World Heritage Day
World Password Day
International Day of the Midwife
National Silence the Shame Day
Melanoma Monday – 1st Monday in May
6 – National Nurses Day
Childhood Depression Awareness Day
International No Diet Day
National Foster Care Day – 1st Tuesday in May
National Teacher Appreciation Day – Tuesday of the 1st full week in May
7 – National Tourism Day
National Interpreter Appreciation Day
National Packaging Design Day — pay attention to product packaging and the design behind it!
National Skilled Trades Day – 1st Wednesday in May
National Bike to School Day – changes annually
National School Nurse Day – Wednesday of National Nurses Week
8 – World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day – Give Blood!
VE-Day
Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation (May 8 & 9)
World Migratory Bird Day
World Ovarian Cancer Day
National Receptionists Day
9 – Europe Day
National Women’s Checkup Day
National Home Front Heroes Days
Military Spouses Appreciation Day – Friday before Mother’s Day
National Provider Appreciation Day – Friday before Mother’s Day
10 – World Lupus Day
National Dog Moms Day – 2nd Saturday in May
Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive – 2nd Saturday in May
Clean up your room day
National Birth Mother’s Day – Saturday before Mother’s Day
National Babysitter’s Day – Saturday before Mother’s Day
National Military Spouse Appreciation Day
11 – Eat what you want day – not a good idea.
Mother’s Day
12 – National Fibromyalgia Day
International Nurses Day – Yes! Celebrate nurses twice!
Limerick Day
Women’s Checkup Day – 2nd Monday in May
Fibromyalgia Awareness Day
13 – National Apple Pie Day
International Hummus Day
National Train Day
14 – Dance like a Chicken Day – this should be fun!
Decency Day
World Fair Trade Day
World Migratory Bird Day
Underground America Day
15 – Peace Officers Memorial Day
National Chocolate Chip Day – Oh, Yeah!
World Baking Day
International Day of Families
16 – Do Something Good for Your Neighbor Day – definitely!
Barbecue Day
Wear Purple for Peace Day
National Love a Tree Day
International Day of Living Together in Peace
International Day of Light
National Classic Movie Day
Pizza Party Day – 3rd Friday in May
National Bike to Work Day – 3rd Friday in May
National Endangered Species Day – 3rd Friday in May
National Defense Transportation Day – 3rd Friday in May
National Biographers Day
17 – World Hypertension Day
Learn to Swim Day – 3rd Saturday in May
Armed Forces Day – 3rd Saturday in May
World Telecommunications and Information Society Day
18 – No Dirty Dishes Day
Visit Your Relatives Day
International Museum Day – many have virtual tours!
National Visit Your Relatives Day
NASCAR Day
Armed Forces Day
19 – Pentecost
20 – National Rescue Dog Day
World Bee Day
21 – American Red Cross Founder’s Day
Waitstaff Day – appreciate your neighborhood restaurants!
World Day for Cultural Diversity
International Tea Day
National Waitstaff Day — Give them an extra tip!
22 – National Maritime Day
23 – World Turtle Day
National Road Trip Day – Friday before Memorial Day
National Don’t Fry Day – Friday before Memorial Day
National Cooler Day – Friday before Memorial Day
24 – National Scavenger Hunt Day – should be fun!
World Schizophrenia Day
Brother’s Day
25 – National Missing Children’s Day
International Plastic Free Day
National Senior Health & Fitness Day
World Thyroid Day
National Wine Day – don’t overdo it!
26 – National Paper Airplane Day – perfect if you’re bored at home or in the office!
Memorial Day – 4th Monday in May
27 –
28 – National Brisket Day
Senior Health and Fitness Day – Last Wednesday in May
Flip Flop Day – Wednesday after Memorial Day
Hamburger Day
29 – National Paperclip Day – what can you create with paperclips?
National Paperclip Day
30 – National Creativity Day
World Multiple Sclerosis Day
National Water a Flower Day
31 – Heat Awareness Day
Autonomous Vehicle Day — Wave at a Waymo!
National Save Your Hearing Day
International Flight Attendant Day
World No Tobacco Day
National Smile Day
National Speak in Complete Sentences Day — a lost art!
If you need help on how to take advantage of these trends, click here to schedule a free Zoom consult.
