Aunt Elizabeth (with the help of one very familiar daughter) explains the Hungarian custom of May Day.

May Day might not be well observed in America, but in Europe, it is a continuation of an ancient Pagan fertility festival -- the best of these being known as the Celtic Beltaine. Here, maypoles, flowers and intertwined ribbons mimic the rites of spring. However, "tamer" or more innocent versions of this holiday could be found elsewhere. Such is the case in Hungary, where the holiday was remade into a "lover's festivity." In this case, the holiday has a decidedly "Valentine's Day" feel, with young people calling on traditional acts of love....though certain acts harken back to pagan origins (for example, the gift of a decorated branch or small tree, left in the yard of an intended love, is a symbol of renewal and fertility).

This distinction was made through research, as the lovely Aunt Elizabeth (my mother), is simply telling the story purely from her point of view, without background research, and I thought it might be interesting to allow the reader more insight. Having mentioned that, I now bring you to the intended story, and Aunt Elizableth...
~Zan Asha

Majus Fa (May-OOSH Fah) is the way we pronounce May Day, in Hungarian. While I know that it is not a very popular holiday in America, many people in Europe consider May Day (May 1) a lover's holiday. People who were in love, or who were seeking love would traditionally give gifts to each other. These gifts were often given following traditional guidelines.

On the eve of May Day,the young men of the town used to chop small trees, and decorate them with ribbons and take it to their beloved's house on May Eve. Either they used to put on fence, or stand it up, in the (intended) girl's yard. This was very commonly seen throughout the countryside.

Or, they might bring a big basket of flowers and place it at the front of the girl's garden gate, or under her terrace. There is a very particular flower that is often given in these baskets. It looks very much like a hydrangea, but it is not a hyndrangea, and the name escapes me, unfortunately, but it is beautiful. Pink is usually the color of choice for these special May Day baskets.

Another option during May Day: the young men might hire a band, usually of Gypsy origin (because many of them were very good musicians and singers), to go to the house of a girl he liked, and serenade her. So you can imagine sitting at home, and suddenly you have a band of musicians serenading you.

The funny thing--and the important thing to the whole situation--is that you did NOT leave a card or a clue that YOU were the one behind the gifts. The entire thing was anonymous, and sometimes this made for very interesting situations....for example, you might have MORE than one basket or one tree in your yard, or more than one band to serenade you! So then you had to guess what might be going on, and who your "admirers" might be! For the most part, it was the men who gave these gifts to a girl he might be interested in, but sometimes it might be the other way around.

Usually, this was done mostly in rural areas...because, I think, it was much easier to carry out. It might be much more difficult to hire a band to serenade a girl on the 5th floor of an apartment building in the city than her own home in the village, if you understand what I mean. These traditions, as with many things rural, maybe dying out because of the growing number of people moving to the city and forgetting their "roots." This would be a shame because there is a rich fabric of stories and traditions that carry their own charm. May Day is certainly one of them.