May Special Days Calendar: Holidays & Celebrations in May 2026
Use this printable Celebrations Around the World Calendar for May in your classroom to learn more about the holidays and celebrations of countries and cultures from all over the world.
This collection of special celebration for May (download instructions included below) includes 35 diverse holidays including cultural festivals, religious festivals, international days that raise awareness of social and environmental issues, and even a few just-for-fun days. Each celebration is listed with the actual holiday date for 2026.
May Special Days for Educators
See instructions below to have the entire Special Days calendar for 2026 complete with activity links delivered directly to your inbox.
World Special Days in May with Suggested Activity Links
May 1: Vappu (Finland) • Vesak (Buddhist) • Mother Goose Day: Enjoy a nursery rhyme or three from our collection of Themed Nursery Rhymes lyrics.
May 2: Harry Potter Day • Free Comic Book Day (USA)
May 3: Wild Koala Day: We’ve got lots of koala-spiration in our list of Books About Australian Animals. • World Laughter Day: Make your students laugh with titles from this list of Funny Books for Kids
May 4: Star Wars Day: May the Force be with you as you enjoy our Star Wars Matching Game, Star Wars Lego Mosaics and Star Wars Books for kids!
May 5: Cinco de Mayo (Mexico) • World Asthma Day • Kodomo No Hi (Japan): Find out more about Japan’s Children’s Day with this video by The Japan Society and have a look at our colorful DIY koinobori from a recycled plastic bottle.
May 6: World Kids Coloring Day: Try out these Mindful Coloring Pages
May 8: VE Day (Europe)
May 9: Peter Pan Day
May 11: Mother’s Day (USA/Australia & others): Find inspiration for DIY gifts and cards for students to make in my collection of Mother’s Day Activities.
May 12: International Nurses Day: Find out more via International Council of Nurses
May 14: Dance Like a Chicken Day
May 15: International Day of Families: Here are 35 Books About Families for use on this important special day • Endangered Species Day
May 16: International Day of Light: Explore light with this collection of Light Themed Learning Activities and my All About Light Writing Prompts
May 17: World Baking Day: Sweetheart Jam Drops are perfect for baking with kids of all ages
May 18: International Museum Day
May 20: World Bee Day: Check out these Kids Bee Activities • World Metrology Day: VSL National Metrology Institute shows us why metrology is so important;
May 21: Cultural Diversity Day
May 22: Sherlock Holmes Day
May 23: World Turtle Day
May 24: Scavenger Hunt Day: A very fun holiday and I have a collection of Fun Scavenger Hunt Ideas that is sure to keep you busy!
May 25: Tap Dance Day • Africa Day (Africa)
May 26: World Dracula Day • Paper Airplane Day • Edi al-Adha starts (Muslim)
May 28: International Burger Day
May 31: World Parrot Day
Seasonal Learning Activities
Spring activities for those in the northern hemisphere:
Autumn activities for those in the southern hemisphere:
RELATED: Looking for holidays to celebrate with students in other months of 2026? Check out our lists for January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December
Enter your email details below to receive your May calendar PDF as part of the full 2026 Holidays & Celebrations Calendar PDF.
2026 Special Days Calendar
Receive the calendar straight to your inbox
Please note: All Childhood 101 printables are for personal use only, you may not use any part of this content for commercial purposes-that includes selling the document, giving it away to promote your business or website, or printing the file to sell. You may not share, loan or redistribute these documents.
