Stepping Into May

May Day…always a fun day in my childhood memories. My mom, Collene Spencer loved May Day. She would gather construction paper, glue, little silk flowers, and color crayons together, so her girls, Cheryl Masterson, Caryn Schulenberg (me), Caryl Reed, Alena Stevens, and Allyn Hadlock could make May baskets to take to the neighbors. We crafted our creations and filled them with candy. Then we would sneak to the neighbors’ houses hang the basket on the door, knock, run, and hide. Their part was to try to find us, so they could thank us for the treats. It was a Spencer ritual, the beginning of “summer” sort of, but definitely stepping into May. This year, Mom, Dad, and our sister, Alena can make May baskets in Heaven together. I can only imagine the treats those Heavenly May Baskets will contain. Or maybe they don’t do that in Heaven. I think they might though, because my mom would love it.

May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on May 1st. I think that by May 1st, people are so over the snow and cold of Winter, that we are ready for a fun celebration of warmer weather. Sadly, most people don’t do anything for May Day anymore, and I think that is rather sad. I can’t say that I am any better, because I generally don’t do anything about it either. Nevertheless, I do remember, fondly, the days of my childhood and the May baskets our mom helped her girls to make. The best-known modern May Day traditions, observed both in Europe and North America, include dancing around the maypole and crowning the Queen of May. Unfortunately, fading in popularity since the late 20th century is the tradition of giving of “May baskets,” the small baskets of sweets or flowers, usually left anonymously on neighbors’ doorsteps.

In rural regions of Germany, especially the Harz Mountains, Walpurgisnacht celebrations are traditionally held on the night before May Day, including bonfires and the wrapping of a Maibaum (maypole). Young people use this opportunity to party, while the day itself is used by many families to get some fresh air. May Day’s Motto in Germany is “Tanz in den Mai” (“Dance into May”). I like that idea, and might do it, if I thought I was a good dancer.

However you celebrate or don’t celebrate May Day, the first day of May is officially May Day, and Summer is upon us. For me that is a happy event, and a day I look forward to each year. I would love to see the May basket tradition come back, because I think our new generations would have a lot of fun with it, and maybe spreading a little love and cheer would soften our increasingly hate-filled world.