In LifeWays and Waldorf schools, May Day is an annual festival celebrating community and the beauty of bloom time with traditional songs and the Maypole dance. In Waldorf schools, as children move through the grades, they learn evermore complicated weaves for the ribbons of the Maypole reflecting the particular developmental tasks of that grade level. In fourth grade for example, they learn simultaneous interweaving with skipping that complements the learning of singing in rounds for the first time.
The festival in different guises has been around since pagan times and got a bit tamer in Roman times. In America, it was celebrated very regularly with happy anticipation and, of course, flowers for about a hundred and sixty years. It continues to be celebrated in a number of enclaves throughout the country, including LifeWays programs. At Rose Rock, we typically weave flower crowns or jingle bracelets, and gather for a circle time of song and dance before weaving the Maypole with our families. We finish our celebration with a casual potluck picnic and joyful socializing.
For many years the festival in America was called May Basket Day. In the waning days of April, neighbours and friends, sweethearts and children would make paper baskets or use ready made baskets (returned to families around Halloween, so the baskets could take on their next festival tasks). The basket makers filled the baskets with flowers and/or other treats, and hung the basket anonymously on the intended receiver’s doorknob. If the giver is caught, they can claim a kiss from the giver.
The Maypole dance, as mentioned above, reaches back to pre-Roman festival times. I am not sure those wild dancers from before Rome wore white, as is often traditional today, but it makes a lovely backdrop for all the colorful flowers adorning hair and filling up the Green, with the community all gathered to dance, picnic, and enjoy the start of spring. Weaving the Maypole seems to be a more common way of celebrating today than the secret giving of May Baskets, but this tradition is such a neighborly surprise. Wouldn’t it be lovely to see it resurrected in this social distancing time? It would be a sweet way to celebrate each other and the springtime when we are mostly apart.
A May Day basket is simple to make. Roll a piece of 8.5″x11″ pretty paper and glue in place, then staple a ribbon handle. Fill it with flowers, tissue flowers (we will post some tutorials on Thursday) or treats and leave your surprise on the steps of a friend!