May Day

skiptomylou.org

"The earliest May Day celebrations appeared in pre-Christian times, with the festival of Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers, and the Walpurgis Night celebrations of the Germanic countries . . . "* Oh, who cares.  At our house, May Day meant creating May Baskets and delivering them, secretly, to your friends.

As children, my sisters and I usually made our May baskets out of Dixie cubs or some other small container, added pipe-cleaner handles, and filled them with penny candy and fresh flowers (mostly candy).  Mom typed out little notes saying who the basket was from and we tucked the paper among the goodies.  Then came the fun.  Mom drove us around town and we took turns leaving the baskets on doorsteps, ringing the bell and running back to where Mom had parked around the corner.

http://nkbsweeney.blogspot.com

When I had my own kids, we continued the tradition.  May 1st became one of my favorite days. Such an easy holiday to prepare for, yet so much fun to celebrate.  The custom is, if the recipient catches you leaving the basket, they get to kiss you.  Amanda still remembers her "first kiss" when a boy from her pre-school class caught her and gave her a big smack. 

Now the kids are grown and the grandkids live too far away, so I don't celebrate May Day anymore.  But I still have the urge to make and deliver some baskets.  Maybe to a nursing home?  Maybe to total strangers?  Maybe to you...

123greetings.com

*from Wikipedia