My little guys love to deliver flowers to the neighbors on May Day. The goal is to leave the bouquet on their doorstep, ring, and then run off before they see you. Last year, they got caught at one house, but were otherwise undetected. They were extremely proud of their ninja skills and we got to watch one of our neighbors find their bouquet. The look of joy on their faces was amazing!!!
May Day is on May 1st each year. It’s the halfway point between the spring equinox and the summer solstice. In some climates it is the start of summer, in mine it’s really the midpoint of spring. Flowers are starting to bloom, asparagus is beginning to pop out of the ground and the chance of a freak snow shower is all but over. May Day/ Beltane has roots in Floralia, a Roman celebration of Flora, the goddess of flowers and fertility. The Celtic celebration of Beltane also heavily featured flowers and fertility. Regardless of your beliefs, flowers have remained an enduring symbol of spring celebrations.
May Day bouquets are a long standing tradition, with the ding dong ditch part of the game becoming popular in the late 19th and 20th centuries. Two bold children even left a May Day basket on the White House door in 1925. (Can you imagine that now??) The traditional thing to leave was a small basket or homemade paper cone, filled with spring flowers and/or treats. We like to use mason jars because they hold water and no one likes a soggy paper cone… There aren’t a ton of flowers blooming in our area this time of year so we tend to focus on weeds and less showy flowers. The results are no less beautiful!
Cheer up a neighbor or a friend with some surprise flowers left at their door this weekend- it’s simple and fun!
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