Thursday, May 14, 2020

We're All Ears :: May Inspiration:: May Day



 Floral Wreath  Photo by Chalo Garcia on Unsplash

                                            Floral Wreath  Photo by Chalo Garcia on Unsplash

May's inspiration for the We're All Ears challenge is the tradition of May Day: flowers in cones or baskets, dancing around a Maypole with ribbons.... or other signs of spring!

May Day is part of larger festivals and celebrations that are about dancing and songs all focused on the fields beginning to grow. Some celebrations envolve dancing around a Maypole while holding colorful ribbons woven in and out.  This dance symbolizes the celebration of the fertility of crops. Crowning a May Queen, or in the Catholic tradition crowing Mary statues, are also part of these festivities.

When I was a young child in the late 1950's, I attended a Catholic School and during the month of May we honoring the Virgin Mary as "the Queen of May". We had what is called a "May Crowning". Each day an assigned student was to make a fresh crown of flowers to be placed on a statue of Mary.



Virgin Mary Honored By Jacopo di Mino del Pellicciaio
Virgin Mary Honored By Jacopo di Mino del Pellicciaio - Self-scanned, Public Domain

This custom fell out of vogue in many places during the 1970s-80s, but has since made a comeback along with many other traditional Catholic practices. Today, May crownings occur in many Roman Catholic parishes and homes with the crowning of a statue of Mary. The climax of the celebration is the moment when the one of those present places a crown of flowers on Mary's head accompanied by a traditional hymn to the Blessed Mother. The ceremony often takes place with young girls in dresses carrying flowers to adorn the statue. 


Floral Earrings by BayMoonDesign
Floral Earrings by BayMoonDesign

I had some bell shaped floral earrings by Grubbi Ceramics in my stash and they remind me of the shape of a May pole.  The purple and blue flowers capture some of the best florals seen in the spring.



Bell Shaped Dangles by BayMoonDesign
Bell Shaped Dangles by BayMoonDesign

These floral purple earrings are perfect for spring and summer. The handmade earrings make pretty statement dangles. I added lavender freshwater pearls and Swarovski crystals to bell shaped floral ceramics. These statement earrings have sterling ear wires. They hang 2 inches from curve in ear wire to bottom of ceramics. They are light earrings to wear and they are available for purchase and ready to ship from my online shop.


This is a blog hop so I am looking forward to seeing what others were inspired to create.   Pop on over to the Earrings Everyday blog to see what everyone else was inspired to make!






6 comments:

  1. Those components from Grubbi are perfect for this challenge! What a sweet shape! I love the fresh flowers that are on them as well. Thanks for sharing your story of the May Crowning and the earrings. Enjoy the day! Happy Spring! Erin

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  2. Thanks for sharing the story of the May crownings. I hadn't heard of that tradition before. Love the mix of pearls and crystals with those pretty ceramic cones. So sweet!

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  3. Though I studied at a catholic school (90s-2000s) I missed the tradition of May crowning as the school would be shut in May for summer holidays. So it is great to know about it. I love the bell shaped components and how the beads that you have selected match harmoniously with it.

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  4. These are so darn pretty! Those cones are perfect for the challenge, and the beads you chose to go with them are perfect.

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  5. These ceramic bells have a vintage spirit and the earrings are so beautiful!

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