Today is May 1st....although, when I was a little kid...we knew it as May Basket Day. And that...was a very long time ago. I doubt that many...if any of you...are even familiar with May Baskets. The kids around here thses days don't know a thing about it.
But, when I was a little kid...I'm talking long, long long ago...May Basket Day was a big thing. For those of you who don't know anything about May Baskets, I'll give you a little primer. I have no idea where or when the tradition started, though I suppose it had something to do with a celebration of spring. May Baskets were homemade and could be made of almost anything. I can remember saving 1 gallon wax milk cartons during the month of March, so that I could wash them, cut them in half, cover them with wrapping paper or construction paper ( whatever we happened to have around ) and use pipe stem cleaners for handles. We never bought ready made baskets from the store...no one did....it was more fun to make and receive the ones that someone had made at home. The baskets were filled with candy and usually small plants that were blooming about this time of year....violets, dandylions, etc. If you got caught leaving the basket at the door, you got a kiss. Since I always only delivered them to my friends that were little girls....I always made sure to run a little slower and get caught...for the kiss. It was always just a kiss on the cheek. I remember one year when my friend Janie's sister....who was a year older than me....caught me and give me a kiss...not on the cheek...it was my first kiss straight on the mouth. I distinctly remember it being different than anything I had ever experienced before....and something that I thought I liked......not bad for a 6 year old huh? I had left the basket for Janie, but Pam had come out the door after me on a dead run...she caught me 1/2 way across the yard and I'm not sure I was letting her catch me....she had longer legs than I did, It's too bad that May Basket Day has gone away.....all little boys should get their first full on the mouth kiss from a little girl who has just run them down and caught them.
For all my young lady friends here on SG....consider this my May Basket to you........now.....catch me if you can.....I guarantee that you will....
But, when I was a little kid...I'm talking long, long long ago...May Basket Day was a big thing. For those of you who don't know anything about May Baskets, I'll give you a little primer. I have no idea where or when the tradition started, though I suppose it had something to do with a celebration of spring. May Baskets were homemade and could be made of almost anything. I can remember saving 1 gallon wax milk cartons during the month of March, so that I could wash them, cut them in half, cover them with wrapping paper or construction paper ( whatever we happened to have around ) and use pipe stem cleaners for handles. We never bought ready made baskets from the store...no one did....it was more fun to make and receive the ones that someone had made at home. The baskets were filled with candy and usually small plants that were blooming about this time of year....violets, dandylions, etc. If you got caught leaving the basket at the door, you got a kiss. Since I always only delivered them to my friends that were little girls....I always made sure to run a little slower and get caught...for the kiss. It was always just a kiss on the cheek. I remember one year when my friend Janie's sister....who was a year older than me....caught me and give me a kiss...not on the cheek...it was my first kiss straight on the mouth. I distinctly remember it being different than anything I had ever experienced before....and something that I thought I liked......not bad for a 6 year old huh? I had left the basket for Janie, but Pam had come out the door after me on a dead run...she caught me 1/2 way across the yard and I'm not sure I was letting her catch me....she had longer legs than I did, It's too bad that May Basket Day has gone away.....all little boys should get their first full on the mouth kiss from a little girl who has just run them down and caught them.
For all my young lady friends here on SG....consider this my May Basket to you........now.....catch me if you can.....I guarantee that you will....
family, friends, laughing, good music, great tasting food, nature, stopping to smell the roses and the simple things in life
i fully agree.