May Day used to be the original Ding Dong Ditch but with happier consequences. When my sister and I were little girls, we would make May Day baskets with my mom. These little baskets were very simple and easy to made. First, we made a cone out of paper; we used paper doilies or pretty wrapping paper. Then we attached a ribbon to the cone as a hanger. A bag of popcorn would go in first, and then we would run around the yard picking flowers to go into our basket. Little purple violets and while lilies of the valley were usually what we picked on that first day of May. Off to the neighbors’ houses we would go, to hang our little baskets on their doorknobs. Ding Dong!
It doesn’t seem like May Day gets much attention these days. It’s a simple holiday, and perhaps is overlooked because of its simplicity. Often, May Day is skipped and all the attention goes straight to Mother’s Day. I have more memories of my mom on May Day, however. She loved giving, she loved flowers…and she loved popcorn. Silly to bring up, perhaps, but it’s true!
Popcorn. Another favorite memory I have of Mom is Sunday supper. We had been busy all morning at church and she would make a big Sunday dinner, such as pot roast with carrots and potatoes. Sunday night was a time to relax. Mom would make popcorn on the stove and add tons of melted butter and salt. We would eat our popcorn with apples and milk while watching the family movie on TV. It was one of the only times we were allowed to eat supper in front of the television.
Popcorn has a long history, and to include it in May baskets is an interesting custom in the United States. Popcorn may have been a symbol of fertility, and May Day actually has quite pagan roots over in Europe. There were many rituals surrounding May Day in the past involving fertility, the beginning of summer, and love. The Fairy Queen may come out and lure you away for seven years before allowing you to return.
Halloween is a festival of death, a time for letting go and mourning. May Day, on the opposite side of the Wheel of the Year, is about life, about falling in love and frolicking in the woods. Death is an ending but also a beginning. ~Celebrating May Day
Death is an ending but also a beginning. Remembering my mom on May Day is much more authentic to my mother’s personality than Mother’s Day is.
In England, May Day included dances and mummers’ plays to encourage the growth of crops. I’m including a special video for my dad, who always includes rain for the farmers in his prayers: Loreena McKennitt’s The Mummers’ Dance. Happy May Day, Dad!
Link up your May posts here or at my co-host Gretchen’s! Please go visit other spinners to tell them Happy May!
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