Making May Day Memories

When Meagan asked if she could bring the grandkids to play in our yard yesterday afternoon, I was excited to have them visit, even though we had to practice some social distancing. We have a big backyard, with plenty of activities to keep the kids busy, so I didn't need to plan any particular projects for them to do. But, I did remember that the calendar had changed; it was the first day of May--May Day--so I decided to put together some May baskets for them.

I had to make a quick trip to Dollar General to pick up a few necessities anyway, but when I checked the shelves for some M&Ms, I had to make do with peanut butter ones, because the plain M&Ms were all gone. I guess M&Ms must be a universal May Day tradition. Later, when I checked on FaceBook, I noticed several people mentioning May Baskets this year. Since everyone is mostly at home, more people have time to celebrate the old May Day tradition, some for the very first time. And besides, delivering May baskets is a wonderful social distancing activity.

I popped some sugar corn--I just add a little sugar and green food coloring to my Stir Crazy corn popper to make the popcorn a little more festive. Then, I scooped it into some small gift bags with the M&Ms, some chocolate almonds, and some sticker sheets. It didn't take long, but everyone seemed pleased with the results.


When Erin and Meagan were little, and even when Victoria, and then Levi, first joined our family, we always made elaborate May baskets that took a whole evening to prepare, before filling and distributing them right after school the next day.

As a young child, I remember rushing home from school on May Day, so excited, so I could help Mom quickly assemble our May Baskets, usually made from paper cups and construction paper, with pipe cleaner handles. We filled them with plain popcorn and penny candy, and then placed them in a couple of cardboard boxes so we could hold them precariously on our laps as Mom drove us from house to house. It was so much fun to set a basket down on someone's front step, ring the doorbell, and then run back to the car as fast as we could so no one could catch us and kiss us!

My most memorable May Day actually happened the evening before, on April 30th. My family was moving to Fairbury on May Day, so we had spent the whole previous month packing things up, having a rummage sale in Grandma's basement and, finally, loading the giant U-haul with all of our belongings. I'm sure Mom was exhausted, but that last evening in Norfolk, we made May baskets, and delivered them to our friends as a final farewell. At the time, I didn't realize what extra effort Mom had taken to make our move as painless as possible, but I certainly appreciate it now as I think back.

The memory of that one May Day, just before we moved, is the main reason I've always made sure that the kids in my life can also make May Day memories.

Tobin, Evie, Lydia, and Ari, on May Day, 2020

Young people, it’s wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do; take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do. So refuse to worry, and keep your body healthy. Ecclesiastes 11:9-10a

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