Welcome to May, the halfway point between the spring equinox and the summer solstice. Time to celebrate the return of Spring.

It’s a month filled with graduations, dance recitals, piano recitals, and celebrations, plus other holidays filled with traditions like the maypole dance.

Never heard of a maypole dance?

Many haven’t in today’s world. It’s a way to “bring in the May” by gathering wildflowers and green branches, weaving floral hoops and hair garlands.

Many of us still remember weaving ribbons around a maypole at school to celebrate the return of spring.

From the late 19th century through the 1950s, the maypole dance and festivities were a rite of spring. In the 1960s and 1970s, interest started to wane. Today, you may see a maypole dance in elementary schools as a fun spring activity.

People still decorate bushes and trees in Ireland with colorful strips of cloth.

Called a clottie, the ribbons carry their wishes and prayers, and you can still spot them if you go to Ireland.

The Kentucky Derby on May 1st started the month. The annual horse race held in Louisville, Kentucky, is known as the “Fastest Two Minutes in Sports.” The event inaugurates the Triple Crown, a series of three horse races. Watching it is a tradition around our house. Did you watch?

On the second Sunday of May, we honor mothers, grandmothers, mothers-in-law, and all motherly figures. There’s time to plan your celebration.

Then May 25 is Memorial Day. A day we honor those who knew the risks, who accepted the odds, and who marched onward anyway to make the ultimate sacrifice.

A holiday with mixed feelings— sadness for the losses, and anticipation because it signals the unofficial start of summer.

Lots of celebrations, plus school graduations and recitals. May is perhaps as busy as December, don’t you think?