AAPI Heritage Month & Lei Day May 1, 2022

AAPI Heritage Month & Lei Day

May 1 means different things in different parts of the world, but here in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, it means Lei Day, a statewide celebration of Hawaiian culture and the spirit of "aloha," that intangible sense of warmth, belonging, and connection that emanates from this isolated chain of volcanic islands. Lei Day was first celebrated in 1927 and made an official holiday in 1929. It also happens to fall on the first day of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, which honors Americans of Asian, Melanesian, Micronesian, and Polynesian heritage. May is the month the first Japanese immigrants arrived in the US in 1843, and the month the transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869 by, mostly, Chinese immigrants.

© Alvis Upitis/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

May 1, 2018The Sky Over Nine Columns in Venice, Italy
May 1, 2019Purple flowers and Golden Week
May 1, 2020It s Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
May 1, 2021It s Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
May 1, 2023Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
May 1, 2024Lei Day
May 1, 2025Lei Day in Hawaii

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Aug 18, 2023Avatar Mountains, Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, China
May 23, 2022World Turtle Day
Jun 27, 2021Bathing in the light of Pride
Mar 15, 2021Every day is Napping Day for this screech owl
Aug 25, 2021Happy anniversary to the National Park Service!
Oct 13, 2024Royal Alcázar of Seville, Spain
Sep 5, 20221934 Labor Day parade, Gastonia, North Carolina
Feb 22, 2018Roman theater of Cartagena, Spain
Feb 13, 2022American bison
Jul 27, 2021Maybe we should be looking up
Jul 23, 2018Tokyo welcomes a futuristic new art museum
Aug 5, 2022Edinburgh festivals
May 17, 2021Happy Syttende Mai!
Feb 9, 2021What s going on in this sky?
May 6, 2025An ultralight aircraft flying over the sands of Namibia
Jan 27, 2019A memorial in Germany
Mar 23, 2019What happened to these clouds?
Nov 21, 2024Lion cubs, South Africa
Apr 5, 2019A day of death and rebirth
Mar 18, 2018Christmas Tree Point Road and Twin Peaks, San Francisco
Sep 18, 2025Dunquin Pier, County Kerry, Ireland
Mar 10, 2025National Napping Day
Oct 18, 2022The Guggenheim Bilbao turns 25
May 12, 2023Wild lupines
May 30, 2024Everglades National Park marks 90 years
Jul 16, 2023Bear Hole Brook, Catskill Mountains, New York
Jun 18, 2022International Surfing Day
Oct 19, 2021These laurels are hardy
Mar 29, 2022Northern coast of Colombia
Mar 16, 2026National Panda Day