The History of May Day and Celebrating Spring!

According to the Farmer’s Almanac, May Day is a rich, historic tradition focused around the return of Spring. The origins of May Day are rooted in astronomy and marks the halfway point between the spring equinox and the summer solstice. Historically, May Day was the celebration of the Spring season and among many traditions was the decorating of doorways with yellow May flowers. An additional tradition was the making of a May basket. People would fill a paper cone or basket with spring flowers and leave it on people’s doorsteps. May 1st, or “May Day” is coming up on Friday, May 1st, and given the current quarantine and need for new creative projects for parents and kids, making a May Day basket might be a fun idea. You could create a very simple May Day token by taking a piece of colored paper and rolling it up in a cone and filling it with wildflowers. If you feel a bit more ambitious, you could fill a real basket with wildflowers, flower seed packets, homemade baked cookies and all kinds of fun little surprises that could make a neighbor’s day if left on their front porch.

Photo by Yan Lee

Another fun May Day tradition is going barefoot for the first time to get ready for the coming summer. Go outside and walk around barefoot in your yard on May Day! While we all look forward to celebrating together in the month of May, one way of getting the month started on the right note is the commemoration of May Day on May 1st.