With spring upon us and the coming of May and early blooming flowers, I’ve been reminiscing about making May Day baskets as a kid. As a child I never really knew why May 1st was called May Day or why we celebrated it.
May Day is a celebration that is rich in history and folklore. Traditionally, it was the halfway point between the spring equinox and the summer solstice. Back in ancient times, this was one of the Celtic cross quarter days, which marked the midway points between the solstices and equinoxes. May Day also has roots in agriculture. Spring festivities celebrated the sown fields starting to sprout. Celebrations would include songs, dance, bonfires and decorating with May flowers. In the Middle Ages, the Gaelic people celebrated the festival of Beltane. Beltane means “Day of Fire.” People created large bonfires and danced at night to celebrate.
May Day’s long history and tradition in England eventually came to America. Unfortunately the strict Puritans of New England considered the celebrations of May Day to be licentious and pagan, so they forbade its observance. Because of this, it never was as an important part of American culture as it was in many European countries.
Dancing around the maypole was one of those traditions. I know it was still happening when I was a kid, but to be honest, I can’t remember doing it myself. Originally, the maypole was a living tree chosen from the woods with much merrymaking. In the Middle Ages, all villages had maypoles and would compete to see who had the tallest or best maypole. During the late 19th Century through the 1950s, the maypole dance and festivities became a rite of spring at some U.S. colleges. Seen as a wholesome tradition, this celebration often included class plays, cultural dancing, a cappella concerts and music displays.
I do remember making May Day baskets as a kid. It was usually either cone-shaped or square and made out of paper with a ribbon, paper or pipe cleaner handle. Occasionally they were made out of berry containers. It would be filled with flowers I made out of paper or early spring blooms, often dandelions. These baskets were popular through the 19th and 20th Centuries, especially with children or sweethearts.
These baskets were a well-loved tradition in the U.S. Author Louisa May Alcott wrote about May Basket Day in the late 1800s. School children brought May baskets to the White House door for First Lady Grace Coolidge in the 1920s and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt in the 1930s.
There was a custom to knock on the door, yell “May basket!” and then run. According to tradition, if the recipient caught the giver, he or she was entitled to a kiss. I don’t remember that part ever happening when I was growing up! Most often the May baskets I made were given to my mom, but sometimes to the neighbors. I do remember leaving baskets on the steps of Grandma and Grandpa Blomquist who lived across the street. They weren’t actually related to me, or any other kid in the neighborhood, but we all called them that and treated them as such.
Even though making and delivering May Baskets seems to have fallen out of favor over the years, I think it might be a nice tradition to bring back. Filling a small basket of some sort with flowers, candy, small trinkets or even seed packets might just brighten the day of a neighbor or community member.