Today is May 1st, May Day, and a childhood memory came back into my thoughts. As a child, I picked fragrant white and violet-colored lilacs from the huge lilac bushes that lined the Western side of our yard and made bouquets. I put these bundles of flowers in paper cones, poked holes in the sides and laced a ribbon or string as a handle. I took my floral gifts to a few houses on our block. My memories are faint, but I think that I presented these to older women who lived alone in these houses. Where did this idea come from to hang flower bouquets on doors? It must have been suggested by my thoughtful mother. But where did she get this idea? The older I become, the more my desire to learn grows. I just have to find out the details of why we do things or where traditions have come from. Since my mother and father have passed, I must research elsewhere. This is some of the information that I found regarding May Day.

It has been a celebration since the Druids of ancient English history. When the Romans occupied England, they celebrated this date by worshiping Flora, the goddess of flowers. Centuries later, English children celebrated by dancing around a "May Pole", which was probably a tradition carried over from Europe. People decorated their homes with flowers and tree branches. After the long English winters, this probably helped to freshen their homes. Decorating our homes with fresh flowers is a wonderful way to celebrate nature.

There are other traditions associated with this that I did not know until I researched May Day Celebrations. In Great Britain, young girls would put garlands of flowers on their heads and go around the town singing and begging. They were less likely to be turned away at this time of year. Another custom associated with May Day is women believed that if they washed their faces with May Day dew it would restore their beauty. This custom was carried over to the New World and became part of our folklore. Girls were told that if they washed their faces with the dew on May 1, it would assist them to be married to the man of their dreams.

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