Happy May Day

Day 211: The tradition of leaving May baskets on the doorsteps of friends and family seems to have fallen by the wayside. A common practice when I was a young girl, I often made trugs of woven construction-paper strips or even just rolled a cone and attached a handle. Indeed, the construction of May baskets was an annual class project when I was in the elementary grades. Sometimes, my Campfire group created them as well.

Often as not, the flowers I used to fill the baskets were pilfered from the gardens of the very friends who were to receive them, but no one ever seemed to object. Sometimes when winter had held on too long and flowerbeds were only just beginning to color up, I'd fill my May baskets with dandelions and ferns.

May baskets are the springtime equivalent of a visit from St. Nicholas on December 6. The approach to the door is made with extreme stealth, and the basket is either hung on the knob or placed on the doormat where it can't possibly be missed by the recipient. Then, a knock on the door or a push of the bell, and and a quick scamper around a corner to a hiding place sets the stage. The giver of the May basket awaits the inevitable comment, "Oh! Someone left me flowers! I wonder who?" and may or may not reveal themselves as the benefactor.

In my opinion, the practice of giving May baskets is one which should be revived. Simple joys are almost forgotten in today's hurried and impersonal world.