Childhood memories. There is nothing stronger. Remember the red and white decorated Valentine Box in your classroom with your name on it? Remember breaking and wishing on the turkey wishbone after Thanksgiving Dinner? Remember making May Baskets? Each spring, as I grew up, our class made May Baskets. When school was out for the afternoon during that first week of May, we carried our baskets home, trying to hide them from parents or siblings. Then we spent fun hours hanging them on neighborhood front doors. We would knock or ring the bell, then run and hide. It was so much fun to see the door open and our neighbor or family member find the little hand-done basket of flowers left just for them.
May Baskets have a long history as part of May Day celebrations. The origin of May Day, or May 1, dates back thousands of years to pagan cultures. The Druids of the British Isles celebrated May 1 as the Festival of Beltane, representing the height of spring and the flowering of new life. Beltane means Day of Fire, Bal being the Celtic God of the Sun. Celebrations honoring Flora (the goddess fruit and flowers) were later added to May Day celebrations when the Roman Empire occupied the British Isles. Many springtime celebrations derive from these combined and ancient celebrations, including dancing around the Maypole (entwining ribbons around the pole as a symbol of entwined hearts), selecting a May Queen (a symbol of fresh and unblemished life), going “a-Maying” (gathering the newest of the flowers of spring), and making May Day flower garlands and baskets. All of these traditions were later banned by the Catholic Church in England and even shunned by Puritans in the USA, but still the happy tradition of sharing spring flowers with one another in celebration of spring remains.
During the 1940’s, 50’s and into the early 60’s, our city elected a May Queen each year. She was crowned at a spring festival, beneath a giant Live Oak tree in the center of town, which was named the May Oak. There were parades and dances, and the town was alive with blooming azaleas, flowering Dogwoods, and Redbud trees aflame with magenta blooms. The tradition, which now has grown to include a month long celebration, still exists and is now called "Springtime Tallahassee." The mighty May Oak (thought to be over 175 years old) finally succumbed to a large storm, but a bronze plaque surrounded by a flower garden marks the remaining stump. Long ago, under the long branches of that beautiful Oak, the May Queen would reign, wearing a white dress and carrying a beautiful May Basket.
May Baskets can be made from many different things. They are so much fun to make with a child. They just need to be full of flowers and greenery, perhaps a piece of candy, and they need a handle for hanging.
The baskets we made as school children were usually made from colored construction paper. We would cut 1-inch wide strips of different colors, and weave them in and out of a spliced sheet of paper, like a woven mat. Then we would shape the mat into a cone and glue the ends together. The handle would be ribbon, another strip of paper or a length of cord. I have seen May Baskets made from all sorts of containers, however, and covered with fabric and lace, lined with a vintage hankie or piece of pretty fabric. The creative ideas are limitless. You could use plastic containers leftover from hand-wipes, or washed yogurt containers.
Here is a simple procedure for making a May Day basket with a child in your family:
- Draw and cut out a circle with a 9” diameter, using construction paper.
- Decorate one side of the circle using stamps, stickers, sequins, bits of lace, or colored markers. Be creative!
- From the center of the circle to one edge, cut a straight line. Curl the paper into a cone shape and either glue or tape the edges together.
- Hole punch two holes in the top of the cone shaped container opposite each other.
- Attach a 12”-14” length of ribbon through each hole, tying a knot on each side.
- Fill with flowers and hang on the doorknob of a friend or family member’s house.
- Ring the bell and run!
Finding real flowers can often be the most difficult part of May Day Basket creations! In many places, the first of May is still very wintry, or is at least experiencing the very early part of spring temperatures. In the Midwest, as a child, I remember finding dandelions. To a child these flowers are very pretty! I also found wild violets and pansies, petunias and sometimes Lily-of-the-Valley.
Berries and sprigs of green can also be added and pretty leaves can make a May Day basket colorful, too. Although real flowers are the best, silk flowers or hand-made paper flowers can be just as meaningful to the person who opens their door and finds a loving treat hanging from the knob.
This year, let’s all celebrate the Merry Month of May. Rooted in deep tradition and history, the celebrating of the warmer days of spring opens all of our hearts to new life and the beauty of gardens and fresh flowers.