May baskets were, above all else, a tradition of giving to someone else, not for the credit - the whole point was that no one would know that you had given it - but for the sheer joy of giving. That is something rarely seen and seldom talked about in our acquisitive culture. It is a hole in the fabric of our society, and I regret it's absence because I think it's a crucial part of building a strong basis for moral values. As I used to tell my children, some things are just right, and some things are just wrong, and it doesn't matter whether anyone else knows or not, because you know. I fear a lot of people haven't learned that lesson, and it's to the detriment of us all.
There were many different ways of making May baskets. My mother, ever the creative artist, would help me fashion them out of old wallpaper samples, or construction paper, or whatever else might be available that she could turn into a pretty little basket. In the end, they would be works of art, as lovely as the filling inside them.
May baskets were, centuries ago, filled with flowers to herald the arrival of spring. Kings and queens and their courtiers would dance around the Maypole, celebrating the warmth and new life that comes after the long, dreary winter. After a day of eating and drinking and, no doubt, a bit of debauchery, they would gather flowers from the meadows to bring with them and shower upon each other. Their subjects would exchange flowers with each other, perhaps sharing a special meal or just a dance, but it was a recognition of thanks for the return of the sunshine and warmth to the earth that summer endows.
In more modern times, some people continued that tradition of filling the May basket with flowers, but increasingly, they would also be filled with candy or other treats. When all was in readiness, the little baskets lined up in neat rows in a box on the car seat, you would sneak with a basket to the front door of the receiving friend, lay it on the stoop, ring the doorbell, and then run and hide as fast as you could. You didn't want to run too far, because you wanted to be able to observe the laughter and joy when the person discovered the secret gift waiting for them.
The point was not the filling, of course, but the thought behind it - giving pleasure to someone else, with no thought for yourself. When you ran and hid, the rush of adrenaline would propel your legs faster than you thought you could run, and you would giggle as quietly as you could around a corner of the house or behind a tree, hoping you hadn't been seen. When someone talked later about the anonymous gifts they had received, it was so exciting to laugh behind your hand, knowing that you were the secret benefactor that had brought the joy.
I think that kind of unselfish giving is something too often lacking in our greed-is-good culture. We value those who give anonymously, Secret Santa here in Kansas City is legendary for his goodwill towards men at Christmas time, for example, but we don't emphasize, either for ourselves, or to our children, the value and importance of anonymous giving.
We want our tax write-off, to be sure, but I think the problem goes deeper than that. Most people are eager and anxious for their gifts to be recognized, and they want others to know what they have done so they can get their due credit. I fear that in so doing, they are missing out on the best thing about giving - the change that occurs inside of the giver when their gift is handed over.
I haven't delivered May baskets full of flowers in a very long time. But the joy and pleasure that those baskets brought are remembered long after the flowers have died and the candy has been eaten, and I can easily feel the rush of pleasure that the memory invokes. I wish I had some of those baskets now, they were little masterpieces, created with loving care by hands that were well intentioned. It would be a fun reminder of the carefree days gone by.
Happy May Day to each friend reading this post today. Welcome the spring warmly, and perhaps Mother Nature will respond in kind! Whether the sun is shining or the snow is falling in your particular part of the world, know that a May basket of good wishes is overflowing in my heart today for you.
