Landscapes Portraying May. May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and the third of seven months to have a length of 31 days. May is a month of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore, May in the Southern Hemisphere is the seasonal equivalent of November in the Northern Hemisphere and vice versa. Late May typically marks the start of the summer vacation season in the United States and Canada that ends on Labor Day, the first Monday of September. The month of May was named for the Greek Goddess Maia, who was identified with the Roman era goddess of fertility, Bona Dea, whose festival was held in May. Conversely, the Roman poet Ovid provides a second etymology, in which he says that the month of May is named for the maiores, Latin for elders, and that the following month is named for the iuniores, or young people. Mayovka, in the context of the late Russian Empire, was a picnic in the countryside or in a park in the early days of May, hence the name. Eventually, mayovka came to mean an illegal celebration of May 1 by revolutionary public, typically presented as an innocent picnic. Special devotions to the Virgin Mary take place in May.