I Love May Day
When I was in elementary school in the 1940s in South Dakota, May Day (May 1st) was a big celebration. My favorite part was giving my friends May baskets. We would buy little party favor paper "baskets" or make our own with construction paper and fill them with candy, take them to our friends after school, place them on the doorstep, ring the doorbell and run away. The boys we gave them to were supposed to chase us and give us a hug. I think the May basket idea started with flowers in the baskets, but I guess South Dakota's weather was too iffy to rely on enouth flowers being available.
We moved to California the summer before I entered 6th grade. By the approach of May Day, I had made a lot of new friends who lived close by my home so I made a lot of May baskets. I was so disappointed when I left a basket and rang the bell and started to run away and my friend just stood there looking at me as if I were crazy. (I am used to that look now, but those were the early days.) I found that none of my friends had ever heard of this custom of giving May baskets. I got no hugs that day.
After World War II ended, the Russians held their big military parade on May Day every year. We would sit in movie theaters and watch news reels of tanks and soldiers parading past Stalin. Americans quit celebrating May Day altogether. That gave me a good reason to hate the Communists.
I was never into the "Wedding thing". The only dream I had about a wedding was for it to be on May Day. Unfortunately, my little wedding had to wait a day because we were so broke that we had to wait until I got my monthly teacher's salary check on May Day (a princely $400).
Even though I am lucky enough to live in California and have been experiencing a beautiful Spring for several weeks, I still love May Day. The very name makes me happy.
We moved to California the summer before I entered 6th grade. By the approach of May Day, I had made a lot of new friends who lived close by my home so I made a lot of May baskets. I was so disappointed when I left a basket and rang the bell and started to run away and my friend just stood there looking at me as if I were crazy. (I am used to that look now, but those were the early days.) I found that none of my friends had ever heard of this custom of giving May baskets. I got no hugs that day.
After World War II ended, the Russians held their big military parade on May Day every year. We would sit in movie theaters and watch news reels of tanks and soldiers parading past Stalin. Americans quit celebrating May Day altogether. That gave me a good reason to hate the Communists.
I was never into the "Wedding thing". The only dream I had about a wedding was for it to be on May Day. Unfortunately, my little wedding had to wait a day because we were so broke that we had to wait until I got my monthly teacher's salary check on May Day (a princely $400).
Even though I am lucky enough to live in California and have been experiencing a beautiful Spring for several weeks, I still love May Day. The very name makes me happy.
posted by Connie @ Sunday, May 01, 2005
8 Comments:
At 9:06 AM,
Connie said…
Another high school friend who couldn't view the blog sent his comments via email and gave me permission to copy them as a comment on my blog. If Lois of the first comment or Gene of this comment had lived by my house that long-ago year, I would have had at least 2 people who had the general concept of why I was leaving candy on their doorstep. Here's what Gene wrote:
I ONLY HAVE TWO RECOLLECTIONS, CONNIE. WHILE IN THE MILITARY AND IN ITALY WE WERE NOT ALLOWED TO GO DOWN TOWN LIVORNO, ITALY (LEGHORN)
BECAUSE THE COMMUNISTS WOULD DEMONSTRATE AND HECKLE AMERICANS UNTIL WE KICKED THEIR ASS'S AND BECAME, "UGLY AMERICAN". OF COURSE WE DID NOT HAVE TO PUT UP WITH JANE, JUST TOKYO ROSE (ABOUT THE SAME THING).
MY NEXT RECOLLECTION WAS THAT YOU PUT FLOWERS ON PEOPLE'S PORCHES THAT YOU CARED FOR, ESPECIALLY THOSE FUHS GIRLS!!!!
ONE OUT OF TWO ISN'T TOO BAD, 500 %.
HUGS, GENE MATTHEWS.
IN GOD WE TRUST.
At 6:35 PM,
Connie said…
Mary Waldron Apte sent me this email. As we are on the weblog, we don't need to use the hot link, but I wanted you to see her comment. I wish she had told me what she put in her May baskets and what town she was living in then.
mary apte has sent you a link to a weblog:
I moved to at 5th grade and was totally in to May baskets. We made cones with a bail so they could be hung on door handles. The big surprise at Penn School was the Maypole winding and the Queen of the May. My best friend Jody Bradford was named Queen of the May.
Blog: Connie Stafford Van Horn
Post: I Love May Day
Link: http://crazyoldcatlady.blogspot.com/2005/05/i-love-may-day.html
At 6:49 PM,
Connie said…
Ellen Wright
Rowe just sent me this comment as an email:
OH HOW I REMEMBER MAY DAY.... THE MAY POLE AND FLOWER HEADBANDS..... DON'T REMEMBER THE BASKETS BUT THINK THIS IS A GREAT IDEA.... THE GOLDEN HEARTS WILL LOVE THE IDEA TOO AND WE NOW HAVE OUR PROJECT FOR NEXT MAY...
THANKS FOR SHARING
LOVE YA
ELLEN
At 6:54 PM,
Connie said…
Wow! Maybe we can start a groundswell to resurrect this beautiful holiday. We're supposed to be friends with the Russians now anyway.
But even though my yard is full of flowers, I am still going to give candy. I can't bear to cut my flowers.
At 1:58 AM,
Connie said…
Sandy sent a comment via email too:
Connie, Just wanted you to know that May Day has many special memories for me too. When I was growing up we always made May baskets, filled them with flowers, leaving them for neighbors, & especially one for our Mom. As our children came along we passed that tradition on to them -- we had a yard with many flowering shrubs and bushes, especially lilacs, and I have so many memories of baskets left for me by our children, and of the baskets they made for friends and neighbors. Our girls, especially our youngest, have continued to remember me on May Day, with calls to say "Happy May Day" or even flowers delivered to my desk at work! Other special memories for me are the May Pole Dances that took place at the grade school I attended in Whittier. I loved to see the May Pole (probably the tether ball pole!) with all the beautiful streamers attached. We would practice "dancing around the May Pole" during gym class, then on May Day we would have the "real" performance. I don't think the kids here in our area have ever heard of a May Pole -- I have used a miniature version of one for some of my Storytime kids, and tho it was a poor replica of one, they loved the colored streamers as well. Thank you for sharing your May Day memories Connie, they really helped to rekindle some of mine!
Sandy Bechtold-Bates
At 2:02 AM,
Connie said…
Sandy reminded me of my favorite flower- the lilac. I feel sorry for anyone who didn't get to play with dolls while being nestled among the lilacs.
At 2:10 AM,
Connie said…
Gene (Jones in high school) Matthews was wondering if I should have added his high school last name in case people didn't think of him as Gene Matthews. (I always tease him that he is the only guy from our class who has a "maiden" name.)
Ask him to tell you that "last name" story- it's very interesting.
At 1:05 PM,
Connie said…
Anita Mills Johnson sent me this email today, May 11. You can tell this is from a Californian because we get rain in the fall, not usually in May.
Thanks for the note about May Day. No it is not one of my "things". Autumn is my time. A new beginning. New class, new teachers, new crayons and new shoes. I love the fresh smell of the crisp air and the new grasses when the rains finally come.
Love, Anita
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