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Celebrating May Day

May 1, 2015 Claire Annette Noland 8 Comments

May Day is an old fashioned holiday that isn’t celebrated much. That doesn’t mean we can’t bring it back, though.

Whatever happened to Maypole dances? I did this once when I was five years old. I don’t remember much about kindergarten but I do remember holding onto a beautiful ribbon and going around the pole with the other children.

 

maypole

(illustration by Joan Walsh Anglung – one of my favorite illustrators)

My mother helped us make little May baskets which we filled with flowers from the garden. We hung them on neighbor’s doors, rang the bell, and ran away. Think what a sweet surprise that would be to open the door to a little bouquet.

Here’s aNPR post about this forgotten holiday.

maybasket2_sq-76e31016f44a02f64345beed9f49a7e871422ade-s800-c85

I took a walk this morning and this is what I saw:

Busy Bees – I wonder what blueberry honey tastes like?

may bees

Blackberry-to-be:

may blackberry
Future Kiwi:

 

may kiwi

 

Rosebush gone wild:

may roses

 

Love the striped effect:

may stripe rose

 

Poppy:

may poppy

 

Great color:

may yellow

 

Aren’t pansies sweet?

may pansy

 

I’m so glad the hibiscus bushes have stated to bloom:

may hydrangeas

This vase belonged to my father’s mother. He filled it with roses daily and placed it with the newspaper and a cup of coffee next to my mother in bed. True love!

may pappy

What’s blooming in your neighborhood?

Filed Under: Celebrate, Field Trips Tagged With: May Day

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Rosie Amber says

    May 2, 2015 at 11:16 am

    Lovely idea for a post.

    Reply
  2. Joan Schoettler says

    May 2, 2015 at 1:14 pm

    Loved the gift of May flowers in your blog this morning.

    Reply
    • Claire Annette Noland says

      May 4, 2015 at 7:55 pm

      Thanks, Joan. I love the flowers in your garden, too.

      Reply
  3. julz says

    May 2, 2015 at 5:03 pm

    yes, we had maypoles too when I was at school – in UK – not sure where you are, not the UK as I can tell from the lovely flower pictures
    May Day is also a day for union marches etc – not sure if there will be one this year – smile
    fellow A-Z er…….

    Reply
    • Claire Annette Noland says

      May 4, 2015 at 7:54 pm

      Hi – I’m in California and will enjoy the flowers as long as possible. We’re not supposed to water much because of the drought so we’ll see how long they last. I went into downtown Los Angeles on the evening of May 1st and got stuck in a massive traffic jam because there were workers marching. It actually was quite a festive event.

      Reply
  4. Sandy says

    May 3, 2015 at 3:02 pm

    I never did a maypole thing, but it does sound fun. The weather though has changed so much you’d be hard pressed to have enough flowers actually blooming to give to neighbors.

    Reply
    • Claire Annette Noland says

      May 4, 2015 at 7:51 pm

      I’m enjoying the flowers for the bit of time we have them. Thanks for stopping by!

      Reply
  5. Debbie D. says

    May 9, 2015 at 6:11 pm

    Lovely flowers! May Day is a huge holiday in Europe – their “Labour Day”. It’s joyous to know that winter is finally over. 🙂

    Reply

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Hello. I’m Claire Annette - reader, writer, teacher, and field trip planner extraordinaire. Here at A Field Trip Life you will find ideas for adventures large and small and the kids’ books that inspire them. Sign your permission slip. Let's go!

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