May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii

May 1 is Lei Day in Hawaii, and in honor of Lei Day there are lots of festivities and programs featuring traditional Hawaiian culture.  Many events are on Lei Day itself, but often schools have their programs at various times before or after May 1.

Sunday night we went to the May Day program at a high school where a number of our favorite teenagers go to school.  It's not a very big school, but they put on an excellent program!  They started with the introduction of their May Day court, with the prince and princess representing each island wearing the traditional colors and leis of that island.  The program included traditional Hawaiian hulas but also included dances from many other Pacific cultures including the Philippines, New Zealand, Samoa, Tahiti and a few others.  The students had obviously spent a lot of time rehearsing and their costumes were all very good too.

The Maori men's dance scared our girl and made her cry, but she recovered and enjoyed the rest of the program...well, except for the fire dance at the end.  She didn't cry for that one, but definitely wasn't thrilled with it and we think it gave her nightmares.  That night she woke up crying a couple times and when my husband checked on her he said she mumbled "fire."  Poor thing!

Our boy enjoyed the program, especially the dances that included spears and sticks.  "Dad, are there going to be any more dances where they pretend to fight?" he asked and then added, "I hope so!"

The program was long, just over two hours, but I can't think of any part of it that I'd have wanted them to leave out.  It was a great cultural experience, kind of like our own Polynesian Cultural Center show but without the hefty admission price.

Do it yourself:

Here is more info on the history of Lei Day.

If you're on Oahu, check and see if there are any schools that haven't had their May Day program yet.  If they're open to the public I would recommend taking your keiki.  Like I said, definitely a great cultural experience!