Celebrate May Day May 1st, 2024

Making a May Basket

Ever heard of the May baskets? People would leave a paper basket or cone containing spring flowers and sweets on each other’s doorsteps, usually anonymously.

This tradition was popular through the 19th and 20th centuries, especially with children or sweethearts. The custom was to knock on the door, yell “May basket!” and then run. If the recipient caught the giver, he or she was entitled to a kiss.

Louisa May Alcott wrote about May Basket Day in the late 1800s. In the 1920s, some bold schoolchildren hung a May basket for First Lady Grace Coolidge on the White House door.

The May Day basket is still a cherished tradition for some Americans, although it’s not well known today. To make a simple May basket, fold a piece of colored paper into the shape of a cone. Then fill it with wildflowers! If you don’t have colored paper, roll up and secure (with tape or a staple) a paper plate. Draw on the plate with spring colors and fill it with flowers!

You could also fill a real basket with little gifts such as flower seed packets, baked cookies, candies, and pretty trinkets. If you don’t have a basket, an empty milk carton or seed pot would also do the trick. Just cover it in colored paper or pretty streamers and fill it with tissue paper!

Published By: The Farmers Almanac Author: Catherine Boeckmann