May Day Memories
It isn't an official holiday in our country, but May Day has been celebrated throughout the Northern Hemisphere for hundreds of years, first as a raucous pagan celebration, then as a Christianized holy day, and finally as a secular nod to its varied roots. Now, May Day in the U.S. is celebrated to varying degrees, depending on which region of the country you live in, as a festive way to welcome spring. When I was a young girl, virtually all of the kids in northeastern Nebraska made May baskets and delivered them to their friends' doorsteps on May 1st. Most often, May baskets were constructed from decorated paper cups with pipe cleaner handles, or they were folded and cut from brightly-colored construction paper, and filled with candy and popcorn. (The days of flower-filled May baskets were long gone, even in the mid-twentieth century.) I remember hurrying home from school to assemble May baskets so they could be delivered that evening before the sun set. ...