May Day Baskets
One of my earliest childhood memories is of my mother showing me how to make a May Day basket. The plan was to make the simple basket, put a few flowers in it, and hang it on a neighbor’s door. Then you ring the doorbell and run away before they answer the door and find your little bouquet of flowers.
The design of this basket is simple. Create a square by folding one corner of a sheet of paper bringing the two adjacent sides together as shown in this illustration. Ignore the scribble. It is there so you can see the edge of the paper on top. Cut along the edge of the paper. When you unfold the paper you should have a square and a strip of paper.
To make the basket bring the creased points together with the paper unfolded. Overlap the folded edges slightly. Doing this will shape the rest of the paper into two cones. Use the strip of paper that was cut away to make a handle. Either cut a strip or fold the paper once or twice lengthwise to make a stronger handle. Place the ends of the handle over the tips of the basket cones and staple through all the layers to hold the basket and handle together. Add flowers and it’s ready to hang on a neighbor’s doorknob. You can also find alternate ways to make the May Day baskets online.
There are actually several May Day holidays that lay claim to May 1. The oldest goes back to a pagan celebration of spring and fertility that has traditions we as Christians need to avoid. But the simple tradition of giving May Day baskets will always be welcomed by unsuspecting neighbors and friends.
Other May Day celebrations tie in with war-time and with labor movements. There are several articles available online that tell of the various May Day celebrations.
–by Janice D. Green
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