“In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It Goes On.”
Robert Frost

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Happy May Day





May is finally here! April has sent us a deluge of rain in the last several days and we are just about to float away.  My poor kitties are not happy to be cooped up in the house and when we do go out we must jump over huge puddles and dodge the rain drops! It even has been cold enough to send snow flakes down again, but we will not dwell on that!

Oh I wish it could be sunny and as bright as you see in the vintage image above, those little animals are happy as can be, no puddles in sight!

As I get older, I think back to ancient times when I was a child and pulled this little gem out of the archives for you.  Here I am with another girl on a May Day many years ago. I'm the one facing the camera. The other girl was one of my closest childhood friends.



We are each holding little May baskets and are walking down to the stage where the May Day King and Queen are waiting. There was a whole procession of boys and girls and the royal court consisted of the older teenagers. We also had a Maypole outside that we danced around with the ribbons. No pictures of that though, but I still have the recollection of the yearly event.

A few years later the May Day celebration was canceled and disappeared into oblivion.  I seemed to be at that age where things just kind of ended (1962). Maybe it was because of the Vietnam war and people felt there was no time for this kind of frivolity.

The month of May is the time of year when warmer weather finally arrives and the flowers and trees are in bloom.  It is often a time of love and romance and a time to celebrate the coming of summer. Our April showers are no doubt going to bring an abundance of May flowers and I can hardly wait!

Have a wonderful May Day!





22 comments:

  1. How very sweet this photo is. It actually has me remembering back to those sweet simple days when I was small and everything was a celebration. Oh to really be back there for a few days to hug my dad again would be wonderful , brought a tear to my eye ~ between the sweet nostalgia and the music. May is my birth month . It is true what they say as we get older ,time doth fly .
    Thank you for sharing this sweet photo.
    Happy May Day

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  2. So cute! I have various photos of myself in similar vintage outfits, LOL!

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  3. I don't think I ever seen/heard of a May Day celebration.

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  4. You two are so adorable! I haven't seen a May Day celebration, either...and after all of the bloody rain here, we had better have some flowers as well!

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  5. That is such a sweet picture! I love your shoes! I remember making may-day baskets. Such fun!
    Erica :)

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  6. What a sweet photo!! Adorable. And I cannot believe that May is here already. 2014 is going so super-fast!!

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  7. Such a sweet photo, you both look so cute all dressed up. We do still have some dancing round the maypole in a few select villages, it will never have that sweet innocence though. :)

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  8. I love this black and white photo of you, Diane. It is a treasure to keep forever. The month of May is a special one for me......Mother's Day and my Birthday are both in May.

    I remember the May day baskets, they were sweet.

    ~Sheri

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  9. My friend, you are so cute! I love the picture ;o) Happy May ;o) We have been getting the same rain and we are cold too! I think we are at least a month behind for everything! It will be an interesting summer, seeing where the weather goes? Big Hugs ;o) xoxoxo

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  10. The photo of you is gorgeous! Let's hope May brings some better weather. Happy May Day!

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  11. I love both pictures. So nice you got to experience May events like that. The first of May is still celebrated here in Bavaria, I'm sure there will be something like what you described going on in our village today. The last years I wasn't here on that day so I should go and check it out today :) Happy May Day!

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  12. What an adorable photo! So sweet. Did you keep in touch with that girl over the years, or did you lose touch?

    Happy May! Lots of rain here, too.

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    1. Sadly, her family moved away when in grade school and we lost touch.

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  13. Dear Diane - such a nostalgic and sweet photo. We never celebrated May Day but I remember thinking that there were only four more weeks of school when the first day of May arrived. Hope your snow, showers are fleeing and those flowers are blooming soon. Take care and have a great week-end.

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  14. Diane, this is such a beautiful and sweet photo! Great post, and the music is lovely.

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  15. My dear human friend,

    And thus lies, within your photos, your words, the warmth that hope can bring, the wonders still in your heart on May Day. Today is the continuance of the rebirth that spring speaks tells us of.

    A peaceful weekend to you.

    Pawsitive wishes,

    Penny the Jack Russell dog and modest internet superstar! :)

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  16. Fellow Minnesotan! HELLO! Ahhhhh....we did finally get some sun yesterday, and it was about time I posted on celebrating it! I don't know about you, but we here in Northeast Minneapolis had a lot of winter burn on our shrubery.. But as I wait for the new buds to open on my boxwood, I will then prune hard this year to give my plants a new start. Thank you so much for coming to visit, and I wish you a FABULOUS MAY in the garden! Love your vintage pic...

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  17. And a wonderful beginning of May to you too! Hugs and smile from out west. I love that photo of you! :)

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  18. I went to the May Day celebrations at the weekend, but I forgot to take my camera! It was lovely to see both boys and girls dancing around the Maypole. When the May Queen was crowned, I remembered your post. I left a comment last week, but it doesn’t look as though it ‘stuck’.

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  19. We never had May Day as I lived at the other end of the world where we were moving into winter - but you are right - I can remember being fascinated by pictures and illustrations of May Day events (and the May Queen especially) and then it all just stopped abruptly. I love your photo!!! I can also remember the illustration you started the post with - I'm sure I had the book it came from - it is so, so familiar.

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