May 1, 2020: May Day, May Day
So the first day of May is called May Day… and the international call for help is Mayday! So don’t get confused because May Day is a celebration of spring and flowers, going all the way back to ancient Roman times. It is not a big deal in the US, but in Europe it’s a big holiday with Maypole dances, May queens, and even bonfires. Hawaii changed it to Lei Day, to connect it with their culture. One tradition for May Day was to leave flowers on people’s doorsteps, ring the bell, and run away–kind of a nice ding-dong-ditch’em. (You didn’t know about that… oops, don’t tell your parents I mentioned it…)
Let’s celebrate spring and flowers today, but think more about how they are some of the wonders of God.
Let the heavens rejoice and the earth be happy! Let the sea and everything in it shout for joy! 12 Let the fields and everything in them be happy! Let the trees in the forest sing for joy 13 when they see the Lord coming!
Psalm 96:11-13 (ERV)
11 Then God said, “Let the earth grow grass, plants that make grain, and fruit trees. The fruit trees will make fruit with seeds in it. And each plant will make its own kind of seed. Let these plants grow on the earth.” And it happened. 12 The earth grew grass and plants that made grain. And it grew trees that made fruit with seeds in it. Every plant made its own kind of seeds. And God saw that this was good.
Genesis 1:11-12 (ERV)
Dear Lord, thank you for spring, for the growth of new things. Amen.
