~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
May 1st, 2011

★~Today’s Quote: “What potent blood hath modest May.”-  Ralph W. Emerson

★~ May Day

 The lusty month of May! May Day has been a traditional holiday celebration since ancient times. On this day, spring festivals and Maypoles are common. The Maypole is a tall pole that is covered with streamers, flowers and other decorations of spring. People grab hold of a streamer and dance around the pole to ward off ol’ man Winter for good. Since the 1880s, May Day has been celebrated in some countries, particularly socialist nations, as a labor holiday. In Hawaii, May Day is Lei Day. It’s a day when friends, lovers, bosses, relatives … just about anyone and everyone … gives the gift of a lei to another, putting it around the receiver’s neck and accompanying it with the traditional kiss. Beltane is yet another way to celebrate May 1st,  Beltane is an old Celtic fire festival celebrating life, fertility, and growth.

★~Mother Goose Day:

“Mother Goose” dates back to the 1650’s. It referred to stories like Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood and Sleeping Beauty. It does not appear to represent a particular person, as many of “Mother Goose” stories were written both before and after this term was first used. And, the stories were written by numerous authors. Mother Goose may have started in the nursery, but there is no question that today her works are considered an important aspect of literature. But even more than literary importance—from century to century—from generation to generation—from season to season—from day to day—Mother Goose has been an important part of our lives.

★~ Today in History:

♥~ 1885 – The first skyscraper in America was under construction. No, it wasn’t in New York. The ten-story (138 feet [42 m]) Home Insurance Building was located on the corner of LaSalle and Adams in Chicago, IL.

♥~1941 – Cheerioats, a ready-to-eat oat cereal, was introduced by General Mills. The name of the cereal was changed to Cheerios in 1945.

♥~ 1955 – Jockey Willie Shoemaker rode the legendary Swaps to a win in the Kentucky Derby in Louisville. The Run for the Roses was worth $108,400. (Swap’s colt, Chateaugay, would win the 1963 Derby with the exact same time as his daddy’s: 2 minutes, 1-4/5 seconds.) This was Shoemaker’s first Derby win. He would win again in 1959 aboard Tommy Lee and in 1965 on Lucky Debonair.

♥~ 1967 – Elvis Presley got hitched to a girl he had dated since his army days in West Germany. Elvis and Priscilla Beaulieu married in Las Vegas, NV. The wedding cake, incidentally, cost $3,500. The marriage lasted until 1973

♥~ 1979 – Elton John became the first pop star to perform in Israel. In three weeks time he also became the first Western solo pop performer to tour Russia.

★~Born Today:

♥~ 1939 – Judy Collins singer: Both Sides Now, Amazing Grace, Send In the Clowns

♥~ 1967 – Tim McGraw singer: Welcome to the Club; LPs: Tim McGraw, Not a Moment too Soon, Everywhere, Place in the Sun

♥~ 1983 Jennifer Ellison actress: Brookside, The Godfather, The Commander: Abduction, The Phantom of the Opera

★~ Did You Know: That no other month in our calendar starts or ends on the same day of the week as the month of May?

♥~ The flower associated with May is the Lily of The Valley and the birth gem stone is an Emerald.

♥~ If you were born at the beginning of the month your star sign is Taurus, but born toward the end of the month and you are a Gemini.

♥~ May was named for Maia, the Roman goddess of spring and growth. Her name related to a Latin word that means increase or growth.

♥~ In Ireland May 1st is Beltane Day, the first day of Summer.

♥~ Back in the days, young girls used to rush out into the garden to wash their faces in the May dew. There is an old tale that says that May dew has magic properties and that anyone who has washed their face in it will have a beautiful complexion all through the year. This dew was supposed to be able to remove freckles and also spots and pimples

★~A few Sunday Morning Mother Goose Riddles:

Old Mother Twitchett had but one eye, 
And a long tail which she let fly; 
And every time she went over a gap, 
She left a bit of her tail in a trap. What are we?

Thomas a Tattamus took two T’s, 
To tie two tups to two tall trees, 
To frighten the terrible Thomas a Tattamus! 
Tell me how many T’s there are in all that?

Little Nanny Etticoat, In a white petticoat, 
And a red nose; 
The longer she stands, 
The shorter she grows. What is she?

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Hope you have a very Merry May Day….and if a little lust should blow your way….Blessed Be!

♥