May: Month of Flowers and Rains

The fifth month of the year has begun and with it come rains and flowers.

Because although "Cuba is an endless summer", in reality there are two seasons here: one is dry and the other is rainy; it’s in the latter, which begins precisely in May, when the plants in this geography bloom.

"For our flora, summer is not only evident in July and August, but since May, just at the beginning of the rainfall, and until November," says Lisbet González-Oliva, PhD in Biological Sciences, vice president of the Cuban Botanical Society.

This May was announced to be rainy from the first day -so much so that it forced the rescheduled of celebrations for International Workers' Day-, however, the Climate Perspective for the rainy period May-October 2023, offered by the Climate Center of the Institute of Meteorology indicates that "Extreme high temperatures and deficits in rainfall are expected during the period."

They clarify that "Rains in this period depends on the influence of migratory systems in the tropical zone, such as easterly waves and tropical lows, and their interaction with mid-latitude systems, as well as the presence of tropical hurricanes (…). There are also rains associated with daytime warming that are generally accompanied by electrical storms. The beginning of the period of high activity for thunderstorms is usually in June and sometimes in May.

May was Maius in the old Roman calendar, where it occupied the third month and owed its name to the goddess Maia or Maya, deity of spring and fertility.

For this fifth month in particular, in addition to rains and blooms, according to National Geographic, a Blood Eclipse and an intense meteor shower are expected.

For thousands of years, the peoples originating from the United States and Canada referred to the full moon in May as the Moon of Flowers due to the blooming of the fields with the warmth of spring, and, in this case, specifically on the 5^th, the visible face of this moon will glow with a reddish shade that will change to purple until it becomes completely black.

It’s what is called a Blood Eclipse and it will be one of the most spectacular astronomical events of this month, according to the opinion of connoisseurs, who know such a phenomenon as penumbral lunar eclipse, which occurs when the Moon passes through the partial shadow of the Earth, says NASA.

And as if that weren’t enough with this novelty, May still gives away the Rain of Eta Aquarids, just one day after the eclipse, that is, on Saturday the 6^th and until the early morning of the 7^th.

Actually, it started this year on April 17^th, but it will be in that period when the meteor shower reaches its moment, it covers with a load close to 60 meteors per hour.

Those meteorites will leave long, bright trails and will travel, on average, about 238,182 kilometers per hour from the constellation Aquarius.

Also as part of its lights, May brings to Cuba, with its second Sunday, Mother's Day, a motif well rooted in the traditions of our Island and which, in addition to flowers, colors this fifth month of hugs and kisses.

Translated by Amilkal Labañino / CubaSí Translation Staff