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Learn about global traditions that celebrate the beginning of spring.
- The May Day festival is an ancient celebration in the northern hemisphere. In ancient Rome, it was focused on Flora, the goddess of flowers, and featured theater performances and offerings of wheat.
- In modern Europe, May Day is celebrated in many countries with dancing (often around a maypole) and the giving of May baskets filled with treats and flowers.
- In the late 1800s and early 1900s, socialists and communists from around the world selected May 1 as International Workers’ Day, to mark the contributions of the working classes. It’s still a public holiday in many countries around the world.
- In northern climes like Minnesota, early May is the beginning of the planting season. Consider adding some traditional spring flowers to your garden, like pansies, marigolds, zinnias, sweet peas and nasturtiums.
- To make a flower crown with your kiddo (or for yourself!) use a handful of flexible willow branches as the base. Make a circlet with one branch, tucking the ends under a couple of times. Turn the circle one quarter-turn, and add branches, until you’ve used four or five branches. Trim the ends, and start tucking your favorite wildflowers into the crown. Voila!
