Happy May Day!

The tradition of the May Basket, or “Bringing in the May”, can be linked to the ancient Druid holiday of May Day, a celebration of spring and the forthcoming pleasures of summer.

Surprising a friend or neighbor on May 1^st by anonymously hanging a flower filled May Basket on their doorknob is surely as much of a heart-tickling delight now as it was in days of yore.

Fashioning May Baskets can be as straightforward or as involved as one wishes the process to be. Here at Circa we rarely allow our imaginations to be bound by ritual, choosing, rather, to embrace simplicity instead. Thus, the traditional basket might be substituted by an old canning jar, a clay pot or perhaps, even, a porcelain tea cup~ whatever might be at hand that we deem suitable to hold our May Day offerings.

Gather containers, colorful Spring ribbons and fresh posies.

Select an appropriate ribbon, and then tie it around the container,
leaving enough on the ends to form a loop to hang over doorknob.

Arrange flowers in a pleasing manner.

Address a tag with the recipient's name or nice sentiment. We use simple shipping tags which can be found at most office supply stores. Tie sentiment tag on container.

Hang your May Basket on the recipient's doorknob, knock once,
and then vanish like mist in the morning sun.

With that said, spring flowers might be substituted for little trinkets, sweets for a child, or perhaps a pot of honey for a tea aficionado. If our offering proves too cumbersome for the doorknob, we place it before the threshold. We hold firm to the notion that it’s not the offering or the way in which it is presented that counts, but rather the thought.

We encourage you to enjoy the process, be creative, and elaborate at will.

Happy May Day, One and All!