May Day

Forgotten Holiday Tradition.

I love the month of May, the air is crisp the flowers are starting to bloom and I know that beach weather and farmer’s markets are just around the corner. I can’t think of a better way to welcome the month than to celebrate May Day.

For those of you not familiar with May Day, it goes a little something like this. On May 1st go to your neighbor’s house and hang the May Day basket on their door handle or on the front stoop, ring the door bell and run. Watch their surprise as they open their door and see the May Day basket. The tradition is that if you are caught they give you a kiss but if you’re sneaky and don’t get caught, you can still come out from hiding and wish them a happy May Day.

This is such a lovely tradition and it can certainly be modified to fit your lifestyle. As a child we constructed paper baskets and filled them with fresh picked flowers and candy. This was accompanied by a card with a cute message. You could always use baked goods or small trinkets to fill the basket. It is a great feeling to make people smile and brighten their day and all it takes is a small May Day basket with a little ding and dash.

When I asked my husband if they celebrated May Day in Canada he said he hadn’t heard of it. After explaining the concept he said “oh yeah, we did that but with dog poo.”….Boys!