“May is the month of expectation, the month of wishes, the month of hope.” – Emily Brontë
“Mayday, mayday, mayday” is an international distress signal that was initially widely used in the aviation and maritime world to alert authorities of a life-threatening emergency. However, in English grammar, “Mayday” is a homophone of a two-word phrase known as “May Day” which is an annual festival of ancient European origin that honors the beginning of summer and the half-way point of the spring season. This two-word phrase also commemorates the struggle for workers’ rights as a part of the international labor movement which began in 1889. These two very popular events also take place in a month that has been designated as National Mental Health Awareness Month in the United States since 1949.
Beyond its initial use as an international emergency communication standard for specific professions (namely maritime and aviation), the use of “mayday, mayday, mayday” has spanned to other professional fields to include: police forces, firefighters and transportation organizations. Additionally, metaphorically, “mayday” has become a commonly used method of communication when people are crying out for help in their personal life to include those who are in psychological distress.
On Morning Energy, we are going to spend exploring various expressions of “Mayday” as it relates to so many different areas of our lives.
Join me, Renna on Friday from 4-6am for a very special musical journey about this very inspiring and intriguing topic. And if you miss the live program, you can always listen to the weekly program for up to 7 days on the archives at https://www.wmnf.org/
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