May Day

As a child, May Day (May 1st) was a joyous springtime celebration focusing on welcoming warmer weather, dancing around a Maypole festooned with colorful ribbons and making small baskets filled with flowers and treats to secretly leave on a friends' or neighbors' doorstep.  It was a fun, innocent tradtion aimed at celebrating spring and friendship.  Some events crowned a "May Queen" to represent the beauty of spring.

Historically, this tradition originated from ancient European festivals welcoming spring such as the Roman festival of Flora or the Celtic Beltane, later becoming a popular community festival in the Middle Ages.