“It’s May! It’s May!” cries lusty Queen Guinevere to her court, inciting them to ahem traditional revelry. But May is also a month of Perfect Propriety, especially for lovers of tradition. On this May Day, Etiquetteer wants to point out a few little items so you can be prepared.
Starting with today, May Day. According to Almanac, “people in Britain welcome spring by ‘Bringing in the May,’ or gathering cuttings of flowering trees for their homes.” They specifically mention “branches of forsythia, magnolia, redbud, lilac,” but not hawthorn. Etiquetteer remembered Jacy in Clemence Dane’s enormous novel The Flower Girls popping into a London florist. “He asked for hawthorn boughs, but the reaction to that suggestion was cold. ‘You can’t bring may into the house, sir,’ said the saleslady firmly, and took charge of him from that moment as a creature of irresponsible, communistic tendencies who needed watching.” This may have to do with the folklore of hawthorn being associated with the fairies, so use caution. Still, one may bedeck oneself or others with a wreath of flowers or a sprig of something for a lapel.
Speaking of hawthorn, apparently the Scots say “Ne’er cast a clout till May be out.” This translates to “Keep your clothes on until the hawthorn is in bloom.” Depending on where you live, this might be problematic for World Naked Gardening Day, always the first Saturday of May. Etiquetteer’s advice on how to observe, or avoid, from Volume 15, remains a good guide.
Mother’s Day, the second Sunday is May, is sure to prompt a wave of restaurant reservations for brunch. Please begin making those plans now and verify your reservation two days in advance to prevent, um, surprises on the day. If your mother loves flowers, consider the traditional corsage: red (or pink) flowers if her mother is living, white flowers if not (Southern Living explains the symbolism and more here), or whatever her favorite flower is if that’s what she prefers. What could be more Perfectly Proper? Etiquetteer used to love to send Dear Mother (may she rest in peace) a big purple cattlyea orchid because she remembered getting one at a college dance.
May 15 remains Straw Hat Day, when our felt hats are officially put away to rest for the summer and our panamas and boaters come out. Etiquetteer’s history of the evolution of this observance may be found in Volume 14.
National Wine Day on May 25 could not be a better opportunity to remind wine bibbers that a wineglass is properly held by the stem and not the bowl to avoid warming the wine or marking the glass with your greasy hands. The one exception is a brandy snifter.
And for those who love a good tradition, Memorial Day weekend brings us the official launch of the summer season with the return of white shoes and white linen.
With that, Etiquetteer wishes you a Perfectly Proper May.