Welcome May!

Garden Flowers

Welcome with your lovely greenwood choir,

Summery month of May for which I long! – 14^th century Welch poem

It’s May Day everyone welcoming in sunlight and blossoms that will seen flourish into the lushness that is summer. Today is the day the ancients celebrated life, growth, and love. The Irish considered it a time of new beginnings. Long ago they would jump between two fires to bring good luck and good health to their livestock and to bring prosperity and celebrated with good food and good company with dancing and song around brightly lit fires and fresh flower garlands. They would use hawthorn branches, ribbon and flowers to make their May bush, along with streamers and colored eggshells. A golden ball was then hung from the bush as the sun. This May bush would be hung in a prominent place in the home.

Fairy Lilies (of course)

A more common theme in celebrations for May Day was the Maypole. While we never practiced it at home, my mum did say in her younger days, they celebrated with a Maypole at school. Traditionally a Maypole was set up in the center of a village with colorful flowers, bows and streamers. Later on they would dance around the pole in a dance called “threading the needle.” The games, dancing and celebration usually lasted long into the night. They would enjoy the seasonal fare with plenty of mead, ales, elderberry wine and Maycup which was a tea made from the sweet-smelling herb Woodruff.

Calla Lily

To make a Maybough to use as a centerpiece or mantle decoration:

Small cut branches or twigs of hazel, holly, elder or rowen, hawthorn, forsythia or dogwood.

Using left-over eggshells from Easter (or plastic ones if that’s all you have), attach strings or ribbons to them for hanging.

Can also place blossoms, ribbons, and bows to make it more festive.

Place in a vase with enough small pebbles or soil to anchor it in place.

Now—Make a Wish!

Hope you enjoy your May Day!