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Next: 1 May 2027

Lei Day

May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii, a celebration of the garland and the skill of making it.

What happens

Lei Day was first held in Honolulu on 1 May 1928, after a local writer proposed a day to honour the Hawaiian custom of making and wearing lei. Schools across the islands hold programmes of song and hula, and a lei queen and her court are chosen. In Honolulu there is a contest for lei makers, judged on skill and materials. Each island has its own lei, among them the red lehua of Hawaii Island and the pink lokelani rose of Maui. The next morning lei from the contest are laid at the royal tombs.

The flowers

LeiStrung, braided or twisted from flowers, leaves, seeds and shells.PlumeriaFrangipani, the most familiar lei flower.ʻŌhiʻa LehuaʻŌhiʻa lehua, the lei flower of Hawaii Island.Damask roseLokelani, the pink rose that is the flower of Maui.

More flowers and customs of Lei Day

Decoration Lei Day Hawaii’s annual festival of leis, flowers and island traditions on May 1 🇺🇸 United States · Custom, May
About this page

Original text by the Phool desk, written with AI assistance. Background: "Lei Day" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from family to family and place to place. If we have something wrong, tell us.

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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