Tuesday, May 1, 2012

May Day!

Do you know that May 1st (May Day) is halfway between the first day of spring and the first day of summer? It's also called Beltane in many parts of the world. The Celtics celebrated it as a springtime festival of optimism. It's an amazing time of the year here in the Pacific Northwest, with everything exploding with blossoms and nonstop flowers everywhere. The rhododendrons (Washington's state flower) are also coming into full bloom; I've still got to go around to find the best places to capture them in pictures. Can't wait too long or I'll miss them.

May Day is celebrated all over the world. In Hawaii, it's also known as Lei Day, a time to celebrate island culture and Native culture in particular. From the Wikipedia link above:
Invented by a poet and a local newspaper columnist in the 1920s, it has since been adopted by state and local government as well as the residents, and has taken on the sense of a general spring celebration. The first Lei Day was proposed in 1927 in Honolulu by poet and artist Don Blanding. Leonard "Red" and Ruth Hawk composed "May Day is Lei Day in Hawai'i," the traditional holiday song.
In other parts of the country, May Day is observed by making May baskets. I first learned of this tradition from one of my blogging friends, Connie at Far Side of Fifty and have followed her progress with her homemade baskets for the past four years now. Today I went looking for some way to create a few May baskets for the nearby apartment dwellers who have children. I bought some chocolate and found that it wasn't so easy to find anything to use as baskets, but I finally realized that I could use those little reusable paper bags that people give presents in these days. Once I finish this post, I'm going to make the baskets and go ring a few doorbells. That Wikipedia link explains the tradition here:
May Day was also celebrated by some early European settlers of the American continent. In some parts of the United States, May Baskets are made. These are small baskets usually filled with flowers or treats and left at someone's doorstep. The giver rings the bell and runs away. The person receiving the basket tries to catch the fleeing giver. If they catch the person, a kiss is exchanged.
I have always liked giving and receiving gifts, so I bought myself a nice little bit of chocolate that I can share with my special guy to commemorate the day. I do hope your day is filled with nice things, too. Oh, yes, one more thing: our male goldfinches are now in full dress uniform! I took this picture yesterday through the front window of two males and two females. During the winter, they both look almost the same, but then the guys get all bright and beautiful, like this:
Now I'm off to ring some doorbells and run away!
:-)

33 comments:

  1. I just read about the basket tradition and Lei Day for the first time earlier today. Leave it to you to be on top of it. I love the idea of ringing doorbells and leaving treats.. and maybe even getting caught with a kiss. ;)

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  2. you are too cute. well, if you hurry, my gate is unlocked and wide open, so come on by! :)

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  3. very cool to see how it is celebrated elsewhere...just came from another talking about the may day baskets and did not realize it...i do know beltane and may day...so i will wait by the doorbell and see if anyone comes now too...smiles...

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  4. Can you believe that I too just posted a very brief May Day? lol
    Yours is so much more informative:)

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  5. Gracious you're energetic today. I'll check & see if you've been by my place. I don't have a doorbell you'll have to knock. Remember that.

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  6. If you get out my way you will discover at least a hundred of azaleas and bushes of rhododendrons in bloom. I think the last time Bob counted we had over a hundred azaleas and around twenty rhododendrons. The azaleas are three step bushes, early, middle and late. It is like a fairy wonderland in our back woods.
    Do you think our president is in Afghanistan to tell Kharzi its over? No more money. Pam

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  7. I'm telling you where the spare key is, in case you come knocking with treats - but then the surprise of finding treats at the back door is lovely. Loved the May Day post and I remember about the baskets - we always celebrated with baskets filled with May Flowers, which my Mom, brothers and sisters helped fill and Mom would pass them out to neighbours.
    Thanks DJan - that was just sweet n nice.

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  8. Loved your post! I remember the May Days of old. I miss those days. How nice of you to revive the tradition.

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  9. Extremely important to look back and see why the ancients celebrated and how we've adapted. You also refer to various areas and their take on May day. I did not know that May Day was exactly between spring and summer. Interesting post.

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  10. May Day was such an exciting day in England, we danced around the maypole and wore flowers in our hair...
    We didn't ring doorbells and run away, but did on Halloween ;)
    A lovely time of the year, May Flowers in bloom, and nature bringing new life into every nook and cranny.
    Lovely post my dear friend, I hope you've had a lovely May Day.
    Hugs,
    ~Jo

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  11. Happy May Day, DJan! From one heart in Hawaii to yours in Washington.

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  12. Such a beautiful post in every way. Your photos and your sentiments are just joyful. Thank you so much.

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  13. I hope that you had a happy day!
    Your post is full of happiness and cheer!
    I love your bird photo...

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  14. Gorgeous goldfinches! And yes, we sure did celebrate Lei Day in Hawaii every year when I was a kid. I remember the 5th graders got to dance under the Maypole twining the ribbons around it. There was a May Day King and Queen with Princesses from each island. It was a fun school celebration. Somehow I thought it was just a Hawaii thing for the longest time.

    What fun to leave baskets of flowers or treats on people's door steps.

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  15. I didn't realize that finches changed color in winter! I wondered where they all went! Lol! The older I get the more I have to learn!

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  16. That is so cool! Can I do it a day late? Sure I can and I think I will. Thanks for the great idea DJan.

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  17. Oh, I hope you had fun with the May baskets. We used to make May baskets out of paper in school.
    Now it just seems like a day to demonstrate. Boo on that. I would rather do the May Pole dance, like we did in high school, and like my Scandinavian ancestors do, only on Mid-summer's Eve, because it's still too cold there on May Day.

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  18. I really like the tradition of May Day baskets. I learned about it last year from a blogging friend in Denmark. Too bad it hasn't caught on in our country. Every thing over this way is blooming too. Now if the wind would just stop blowing for a few minutes I might get some photos.

    Happy May Day!

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  19. I seem to recall from my youth something about a maypole too, but can't recall the whole idea or its conception.

    LOVED the blossoming tree and the beautiful yellow birds today DJan.

    Informative post, and lovely to view all the glorious images you've shared.

    Sorry I'm so late in getting over to visit with you since you left your comment in my blog ...I've been feeling poorly with a bout of the flu. Hope your week has been treating you well, and I wanted to thank you for stopping by.

    My newest post if you care to view: REDHEADS

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  20. Interesting facts, DJan. I'd never heard of the basket tradition. Being from a British/Irish background, I think of dancing around a May-pole with flowers in the hair.

    I love those little goldfinches...so cute!

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  21. What a fun sweet thing to do, DJan! Along with their bright color, the Goldfinch sing cheerful little songs too. Enjoy May!

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  22. Dear DJan, . . . oh, your posting about May Day and May baskets took me back to my childhood. The girls in my small grade and high school class used to make May baskets and exchange them with one another. We'd put flowers and them and sometimes candy.

    In college, on May 1, we had a May day celebration with a May pole. The senior girls would do the May pole dance, twisting and weaving their ribbons--which were attached to the top of the May pole--so that ultimately the ribbons formed a colorful braid that encircled the May pole. Wonderful memory. Thanks for bringing it back to me.

    Peace.

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  23. Love the blossoms and bird pictures!! Gorgeous! We had our first yellow finch here a few days ago..they are so wonderful to see after a long winter. Our apple trees are just sprouting leaves so you are wayyyy ahead of us in your spring!

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  24. Happy May Day! You did it! What fun for you and the ones that received the baskets! Thanks for helping to spread the May Basket tradition! :)

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  25. Your goldfinches look much more colourful than ours! How come? Maybe it's the treets you keep giving them.

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  26. It's a lovely idea to leave a little basket of gifts at someone's door, but round here where I live that would be seen as suspicious and the police would probably be called! Shame we've come to that, isn't it!
    I love May Day (who doesn't) and with the perfect weather, it is the perfect day.
    In England we shout 'White Rabbits' on the first day of May.

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  27. Lots of facts here that I didn't know about May Day. It's a happy time, isn't it!

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  28. They used to close down our Army camp on May Day. Not sure why but it happened overseas.

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  29. Good for you, DJan, to get out there and create some May Day happiness for others! I wish I had been more on the ball, and read this earlier . . . maybe I would have gotten a bit of gumption up and rang a few bells myself! What a thoughtful, sweet thing to do!

    I love when May officially arrives. Even if the weather is still breezy and wet, there is the sure promise of summer to come!

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  30. May Day has a new meaning around my homestead. It is now the day that the hummingbirds put in an appearance. We've been waiting for them to arrive but have never known when they would arrive. Maybe they were already in town, but we first spotted them on May 1.

    The basket tradition is a lovely idea. I would be inclined to ring the bell, and wait to wish someone a happy May Day. Ringing doorbells and running away might leave the person feeling spooked.

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  31. Hi DJan, Is it just me or is this year moving along at a fast clip? May already!! It feels like mid summer here in Nebraska lately. Not like last year at all. Nice picture of the birds.

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  32. Ring....ring...Happy May Day to you and the smart guy! (insert sound of my shoes hitting the walkway as i run from your door)(might include some heavy huffin' and puffin' as well) ha!

    Lovely way to show some love. Sorry i'm a bit off on the day.

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