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Celebrate May Day Wherever You are with Fresh Hawaiian Leis

Leis have always been a part of the ancient Hawaiian culture and modern culture of living in Hawaii. Hawaiian lei is a part of every celebration from births, graduations, weddings, anniversaries, and deaths--there is not one occasion in Hawaii where the gift of a lei would not be appropriate.

So although leis were so much a part of every day life then and now, it wasn't until 1928 that a couple of writers came up with the idea to celebrate the lei in Hawaii with its own special day.

In early 1928 writer and poet Don Blanding wrote an article in a local paper suggesting that a holiday be created centered around the Hawaiian custom of making and wearing lei. It was fellow writer Grace Tower Warren who came up with the idea of a holiday on May 1 in conjunction with May Day. She is also responsible for the phrase, "May Day is Lei Day." If you are planning a trip to Hawaii at the end of the month into early May, you'll get to experience this Hawaiian holiday first-hand for yourself.

The first Lei Day was held on May 1, 1928, and everyone in Honolulu was encouraged to wear lei. Festivities were held downtown with hula, music, lei making demonstrations and exhibits and lei making contests.

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported, "lei blossomed on straw and felt hats, lei decorated automobiles, men and women and children wore them draped about their shoulders. To the city Kamehameha's statue extended a garland of maile and plumeria, which fluttered in the wind from its extended hand. Lei recaptured the old spirit of the islands (a love of color and flowers, fragrance, laughter and aloha)."

In 1929, Lei Day was made an official holiday in the territory, a tradition which was interrupted only during the years of World War II, and which continues today.

Go Hawaii, About.com

So who was Don Blanding and how did Grace Tower Warren decide on May 1 as the day the lei should be celebrated?

According to Robert Schmitt and Ronn Ronck in their book, Firsts and Almost Firsts in Hawaii (University of Hawaii Press, 1995), this date marks Hawaii's first Lei Day. Don Blanding, then an artist and writer in the advertising division of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, created it to promote business for the paper's advertisers. Blanding went on to become Hawaii's poet laureate. It's said that Grace Tower Warren, the newspaper's society editor, supported the idea because May 1 was her birthday! Since then, May 1 has been celebrated throughout the islands as a holiday associated with the floral garland.

Hawaii Magazine

Even though May Day had its start with commercial interests in mind and continues to be a great marketing tool and money maker for the state of Hawaii, I like most people absolutely love May Day.

When I lived on Oahu, I looked forward to wearing a special lei around Honolulu on May Day and going to Kapiolani Park to admire the winning leis from the Parks & Recreation lei making contest held annually. When you wear a lei on May Day you feel as beautiful as the lei you are wearing and feel a connection with everyone else wearing a lei because everyone is coming together to visually support something wonderful.

If you want to give or wear a fresh Hawaiian lei on May Day while you are on the mainland, we can help. Our fresh orchid flower leis and maile leaf leis can be delivered to you in 1-2 days. Our single orchid lei is only $39.00 and that includes Federal Express delivery!

This year, celebrate May Day in style wherever you are!

The Complete Story on Hawaiian Lei Etiquette

Remember when you were a child and you had to learn the elements of a newspaper story? You had to be sure a complete story included the 5 "W"s--who, what, where, when, why. (It also really helps when I am taking an order over the phone!) Anyway, I thought it would be fun to do a post this way on the etiquette of giving and receiving leis in Hawaii.

As you read the following on lei etiquette, you will see that there really are no hard and fast rules when it comes to leis in Hawaii!

Who can wear a Hawaiian lei?

Anyone.*

What kind of Hawaiian lei can you wear?

Any kind.

Where can you wear a Hawaiian lei?

Anywhere.

When can you wear a Hawaiian lei?

Anytime.

Why do people wear Hawaiian leis?

Any reason.

*When giving lei for a pregnant woman, make sure to give an open ended lei.

*Don't give a "hala" lei to a politician as the hala fruit represents the coming of the end and a time to move on to new things.

Read more about Hawaiian Leis, and don't forget to visit us if you need a Hawaiian lei anytime for any occasion!

How to Make an Easy Hawaiian Candy Lei

In Hawaii, people do not only like to give and receive leis made of Hawaiian flowers and other fresh things like ferns and leaves, but we also like to exchange fun and creative leis.

Since we are at the beginning of the month of October and there is an abundant variety of individual sized candy bars and packages at this time of year due to Halloween, I thought it would be the perfect time to share with my readers how easy it is to make a candy lei or candy necklace.

You don't need a fancy candy lei making kit, specially decorated cellophane, plastic tubing, netting, or ribbon--although you can buy those items at a craft store or online store if you don't mind spending the cash. What I propose is doing something quick and easy with stuff you probably already have at home--well except you may need to get more candy:)

Directions for Making a Candy Lei

First purchase or make your own candy. Hard candies, gum, jelly beans, and the like are good. Stay away from chocolates and other candies that could melt from a person's body heat when being worn as a lei.

Have fun, for example Vegan Momma may want to make her candy lei with her little daughter and fill it with healthy treats, or Kenyo could fill his candy lei with gourmet foodie items. We also offer those cute little triangle packs of macadamia nuts individually or by the 24 count case which can save you some money.

Next, roll out a few feet of clear or tinted plastic wrap (the kind that is probably in your kitchen drawer right now) and lay it on a table. 4 feet for adult sized leis and 3 feet for children sized leis is a good average length. Place your candies down the middle of the plastic wrap spaced 1-2 inches apart. Leave 3 inches or so of space at each end of the plastic wrap so you have room to tie the ends together afterwards.

Fold over one long side of the plastic wrap to cover the candies. Fold the other end over it so it forms a loose plastic tube surrounding the candies. If you are using very small candies and the plastic wrap looks too bulky, you can trim one side of the plastic wrap first with scissors.

Cut a few lengths of curling ribbon, raffia, or any kind of decorative ribbon you may have into 6-12 inch lengths, depending if you want to knot the ribbon or tie the ribbon into bows or curl it.

Starting at one end of your lei, tie a knot or bow in between each candy to form individual compartments. When you reach the last candy, connect the end of your lei to the beginning and tie together to form a loop. Cut off any excess plastic wrap. You can tie an optional large bow or little toy over the joined area.

That is all there is to it! It is appropriate to give candy leis for any holiday or event such as a Halloween party, Christmas, Easter, graduation, birthday...

You can also make your candy lei longer and turn them into candy garlands to decorate a room!

If you enjoyed readying this post, please share it with others. Mahalo!

Maile Lei--The Most Rare and Special Hawaiian Lei

The most rare and special lei from Hawaii is not one made of flowers but of leaves. It is called a Maile (pronounced my-lee) lei and is made from the fragrant leaves and bark of the indigenous Maile vine that only grows in the rainforests of Hawaii. What makes Maile so unique and unforgettable is its intoxicating fragrance that is clean, fresh, woodsy, vanilla, sweet, and spicy all at the same time. Once you smell true Hawaiian Maile, you want to smell that scent all the time. It is one of my most favorite fragrances but I have never been able to find a company that makes a true nice smelling Maile--so far nothing can beat the real thing.

Maile leis are the perfect leis for all occasions. Maile leis are traditionally worn at weddings (usually by the groom and men in the bridal party), graduations, birthdays, award banquets, anniversaries and all other special occasions. Maile is also a suitable "open ended" lei to give to a pregnant woman because in Hawaiian cultural it is bad luck to give a closed lei to a pregnant woman--it symbolizes the umbilical cord around the baby's neck.

The prestigious Maile lei is worn draped around the neck with the open ends of the lei hanging in front of you to waist level or below. Men like it for its masculine appeal and light fragrance, but it is suitable for both men and women of all ages.

CONSUMER ALERT:
Because of the high demand for Maile, some online companies sell Maile leis with NO scent. How is that possible? It is because they are selling Maile leis that do not come from Hawaii, but come from other Pacific islands such as the Cooke islands. Be sure to ask where their Maile comes from so you can get what you are paying for.

If you want to buy Maile lei online, we can ship fresh and fragrant Hawaiian Maile leis from the Big Island to the mainland. Please order at least one week in advance as there are no commercial growers of the Maile vine, and Maile pickers have to go deep into the Hawaiian rainforest to their secret locations to carefully hand gather the Maile vines. Maile leaves from the Big Island are large, about 2-3 inches, whereas Maile leaves from the island of Kauai are much smaller, about 1-2 inches long.

After your event, you can let your Maile lei dry naturally to continually have a light fragrance in your room as a beautiful reminder of your special occasion.

If you are familiar with Maile, please describe what it smells like to you, and your favorite Maile lei memory.

Graduation Season Hawaii Lei Tradition

Here in Hawaii, it has become a beloved tradition to give a lei to "the graduate." Whether that person is graduating from high school, college, completing a course or workshop--any achievement is worthy of being acknowledged and celebrated with a lei.

What is the proper way to give a lei in Hawaii? The proper and traditional way to give a Hawaiian lei is to place it over the person's head so it hangs around their neck, then give him or her a kiss on the cheek. Of course if you have a closer relationship with that person you can kiss them on the lips.

May and June is known as the graduation season in Hawaii. Graduates from all over Hawaii are heaped with leis from family, friends, and other well wishers.

On the mainland your graduate will really stand out from the crowd wearing a fresh hawaiian lei direct from Hawaii. Your lei will also convey love, aloha, and your affection for the graduating person on their special day.

Please visit our fresh hawaiian lei page for a selection of authentic beautiful leis direct from Hawaii. Our flowers are grown right here on the Big Island, and your lei is sewn up fresh on the day that it is shipped. Other leis can be bought online, but many leis are actually imported to Hawaii from Singapore and Thailand, and then reshipped to you. (How fresh can that be?) Most consumers don't know this and think they are buying leis with flowers grown in Hawaii and sewn into leis here on the islands.

Mahalo for supporting Big Island Hawaii flower farmers!

See our Hawaiian leis blog category for more interesting articles about leis in Hawaii.