May 12 Holidays

International Nurses Day is observed on May 12, the birthday of Florence Nightingale — born in Florence, Italy, in 1820 — who transformed nursing from an improvised wartime role into a professional discipline through her work in the Crimean War and her founding of the first secular nursing school at St. Thomas’ Hospital in London. Fibromyalgia Awareness Day was established to raise visibility for fibromyalgia, a chronic pain disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, and cognitive difficulties, affecting an estimated 4 million U.S. adults. International Day of Plant Health was proclaimed by the UN FAO in 2022 to raise awareness that plant pests and diseases destroy up to 40 percent of global food crops annually. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Day draws awareness to myalgic encephalomyelitis, a debilitating condition whose biological mechanisms are still being mapped by researchers. Nightingale, fibro fog, a wheat field, and an exhausted body.