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Do You Remember May Basket Day?

Back in simpler times, people rang in the first of May with a particularly charming and elegant tradition: According to a report by NPR, they would take all the flowers that they had gathered at the end of April's showers, arrange them in pretty paper along with some gifts and candies, and then hang them on the doors of friends and neighbors as a way of welcoming them into warmer weather.

Of course, it was also a way of letting a romantic prospect know that you cared for her, as boys would often hang baskets on the doorknobs of the ladies they fancied, knocking on their doors before bolting away. If the lady in question caught the gentleman leaving the basket, she was then tasked with chasing him down in an effort to steal a kiss.

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But as charming as this all sounds, the custom could also lead to some awkward scenarios. The Taunton, MA Gazette reported in 1889 that one unfortunate fellow walked a mile and a half to present his May basket to his potential sweetheart, only to find that a basket from another beau was already hanging on her door.

The way that Louisa May Alcott describes the day in her children's book, Jack and Jill, it almost sounds like Christmas:

"Such a twanging of bells and rapping of knockers; such a scampering of feet in the dark; such droll collisions as boys came racing round corners, or girls ran into one another's arms as they crept up and down steps on the sly; such laughing, whistling, flying about of flowers and friendly feeling—it was almost a pity that May-day did not come oftener."

While the May Day basket tradition is still practiced by some old-fashioned individuals, the custom is unfamiliar to the youth of today, despite the fact that it was once a very widespread tradition. But we think that just means we should all make an effort to bring this lovely rite of passage back!

TELL US: What do you think of the May Basket Day tradition?

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