Memories of May baskets

April 25, 2025

Long, long ago, in a land far away .......

Well, maybe not that long ago and far away. Haha.

But this memory is a while back in my life, for sure.

May baskets.

Do you remember them?

My mama would have the baskets ready on May 1 - which was called either May Day or May Basket Day - when my brother and I got home from school, or we did them ourselves with her help if the day fell on a weekend. She always made two baskets; one for the neighbors on the west side of us and one for the neighbors on the east. The baskets were made using colored construction paper rolled and glued into a cone, then wrapped with a paper doily glued on over that. Handles were made with the colored construction paper, long enough to hang over a door knob.

She gave us our small scissors to get some cuttings from the white spirea bushes that grew between ours and one of the neighbor's homes. The bushes were on our home's property line, but my parents and the parents of the kids next door shared the care of them. Just being  good neighbors.

White spirea cantoniensis; "May Bush"; "Bridal Wreath Spirea."

These beautiful, fragrant bushes with white flowers bloom in mid- to late-April, just in time to make May baskets. They're often called "May Bush" or "Bridal Wreath Spirea."

White spirea cantoniensis; "May Bush"; "Bridal Wreath Spirea."

We could only cut a few, mama said. She didn't want the bushes whacked to pieces because everyone enjoyed those flowers. The bushes are usually done flowering within a couple or so weeks.

In the bottom of the cone of the baskets we added a some Hershey's Kisses and various hard candies (like the butterscotch and cinnamon rounds), then the flower cuttings. We wrote our own white paper tags of May Day poems (copied from mama's pre-writing) and glued those to the baskets.

Then we were off to each house.

First, my brother and I ran over to the door of the neighbors to the west. 🏃🏼‍♀️‍➡️  🏃🏼‍♂️‍➡️ One of us would hang the basket on the door handle, ring their door bell, and quickly run back to our house where mama was waiting at the door. She, my brother, and I would peek out the door watching to see who would get the basket. We all giggled. It was usually Arlen (the boy between my brother's and my age), or Janice (the girl three years older than me), or their mom.

As soon as it was "safe," we ran across the lawns to the older neighbor's home to the east.  🏃🏼‍♀️‍➡️  🏃🏼‍♂️‍➡️ My brother and I entered their screened-in front porch and very quietly hung the other May basket on their door knob. We rang their doorbell and got out of their porch area as quick as we could without slamming the screendoor, running back to our house. We couldn't see them find the May basket since a room of their home was built where we couldn't see their door. I'm pretty sure mama checked with the lady the next day to confirm they'd found their basket.

Since Spring has sprung here, our area is absolutely full of these white spirea bushes in bloom. It smells heavenly with the blend of those and hyacinth. Mmmm, so wonderful. Oh, how I wish those lasted longer.

I think the spirea and the fragrances of those sweet little flowers it holds are what puts me in the mood for going to the garden center and looking for the plants (veggies, flowers) to grow in the garden at my son's.

I think a trip to the garden center is in my future this weekend.

And I might just make a couple May baskets for old time's sake. There are a couple ladies here in our building who could use some cheering up.

That would be fun.

What do you think?

Y'all have an awesome and blessed day!

Always,

Diana 🌻

P. S. You can find a few ideas for May baskets here: Fun and Easy May Day Baskets to Make