May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii.

May day is also called Lei day in Hawaii, its a popular and fun way to cherish someone you love and care for with a beautiful hand-made lei.

The origins of lei making started with the early Polynesians and settlers to the Hawaiian islands to honor their gods by twining greens into wreaths and making these as offerings. They also used the wreaths and flowered lei made of fragrant ginger blooms to decorate and adorn their bodies. Other fragrant greens used included maile and hala leaves which were used extensively to celebrate various rites, special occasions and daily wear.

This concept of giving a lei to someone special was then popularized with the influx of tourism throughout the Hawaiian islands around the 19th and 20th century. Presenting a lei during the arrival or departure of a love one was shared and communicated as a sign of affection and aloha and still is still used currently as a symbol of affection and aloha.

Leis are now made with many different and aromatic flowers to include tropical plumeria, jasmine, ginger, roses, gardenias, tuba rose and scented orchid blooms to create aromatic and beautiful displays. Every flower and color combination is available and sold through different wholesale and retail outlets. Leis are also made with with many types of organic materials including seeds, shells, fabric and ribbon along with a variety of greenery to create different looks and texture and patterns.

(A gorgeous tutu or grandmother wears and elaborate collection yellow, orange and red flowered leis at a hula performance in Hawaii)

Green material used for the leis above include aromatic maile leaves, ferns and seeds pods, along with the very popular plumeria well loved for its wonderful aroma. Fresh leis are made and worn as adornment for each and every hula performances like the dancer above performing at the Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo.

Even elaborate large leis are made to adorn horses in many of the annual parades throughout the islands. Here leis elaborate leis are created for the horse and pau rider for the annual Merrie Monarch parade in Hlo, Hawaii.

Lei day celebrations today in East Hawaii are marked with lei and craft demonstrations, live music and performances and other festivities celebrating this well loved tradition. It seems so appropriate for the first day of May to celebrate spring and a beautiful day by making a lei and giving to someone special in your life..

©Noel Morata, All rights reserved

Come and visit my photography website at http://noelmorata.photoshelter.com/

The Merrie Monarch Festival - A weeklong hula festival

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The whole week right after Easter day celebrations in Hilo, Hawaii is marked with the Merrie Monarch festival which covers everything and anything focused on the beautiful hula dance, competitions and various events celebrating the hula.

This is one of our most beautiful festivals to watch not only for the gorgeous dancing, wonderful live music and colorful outfits, but also for the gorgeous flower leis, head pieces and organic plant materials used as adornments. In the traditional styles of performances, traditional wear is all handmade from local materials including the coloring of costumes. This dancer below wears a crown of palm pods with indigenous flowers and moss for her hairpiece decoration.





Every day is set with amazing hula performances at many venues around Hilo town and many hula halau (hula schools) coming from all over the world converge to enjoy, compete and perform in the festivities. You will see some of the best hula performances in the world at this week long celebration of hula.

The first day of peformances starts on Easter Sunday and is a called the Ho'olaule'a (Hawaiian celebration or event). The event features well known local hula halau (hula schools) from Hawaii Island and is a favorite event with local audiences. Usually the auditorium is packed with audience members supporting their favorite hula halau with loud cheers and whistles. The energy level and spirit of Aloha is alive with the hula dancing along with audience participation.

Many hula halau include young keiki (children) dancing in their age groups and hula performances are encouraged at all ages from young to old. But the keiki hula performances are very popular and fun to watch at the Ho'olaule'a show.

Traditional hula dancing known as hula kahiko is a very popular dance to see and experience. Not only are the costumes handmade, but also their adornments, leis and musical instruments are hand done for each specific performance. Every part of a dance and costume is presented with authentic details with time consuming practise and performance. This is to present a hula dance to the audience so they can experience an authenthic and ancient hula performance.

The modern dance style called hula Auana is also popular with colorful outfits and a beautiful and expressive flowing style. Most hulas dances are typically done in this modern style of dance with popular Hawaiian music performed with an ukulele, guitar and base guitar combination and singers complementing the dance.

 

Here are a few more performance highlights of last night's event.

The Merrie Monarch Ho'olaulea hula performances in Hilo are just the start of a week long celebration of hula dancing at its finest. The rest of the week comprises of beautiful hula demonstrations, crafts fairs, singing competitions, various competitive dance performances and a colorful parade with the champions of the hula events.



To view more images of this event, please visit my flickr site below

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12701042@N04/sets/72157633140716967/with/8610627747/



A hui hou (until we meet again) - hopefully at another beautiful hula performance at the Merrie Monarch festival in Hilo.

May Day is Lei Day

Happy May Day and also Lei Day ....this beautiful annual celebration that happens throughout Hawaii and was started in 1928 to celebrate the tradition of making and giving leis to friends and family.

Today we celebrate spring, colors, flowers and sharing our aloha with leis.






Celebrations happen throughout the islands and here in Hawaii there are many festivals arranged to cover this wonderful celebration including demonstrations, lei competitions, craft shows, hula and many other festivities.




As I was touring some of the fun events that happened today, I spent some time at a demonstration booth were some women were making head and neck leis with different approaches.

The head leis were first braided together with dried pandanus (lauhala) leaves and then fresh flowers and various beads and leaf material are added. The final product similar to the second photo from the top.

The neck lei here is braided using fresh pandanus leaves and the ladies anchor the ends with their feet so they can align the braids better and have two hands to work with and add all the fresh flowers and added plant material.

This is what the entire look would be as an ensemble as shown by this beautiful tutu (grandmother)

Its very interesting to watch the process being made, at these demonstrations, they actually let you make your own lei after observing and with helpful hands, you can take one home yourself for lei day.

To view other posts with today's flowers go visit http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/

Fresh Leis for Aloha Friday

 

 

 

 

 

 

You've never smelled anything so intoxicating and sweet as a flower stand in Hawaii during the Merrie Monarch Festival.  Its almost impossible to not stop by these amazing display's of color and dazzling combinations of leis on display.

 

 

 

Then you get hit with hints of exotic smells of plumeria, ginger and unusual fragrances that draw you in and welcome you....you must stop and look at these leis and see the loving hands that crafted each and everyone on of them.

 

 

 

You need to see and smell almost everyone before you decide which one will be perfect...

not an easy decision.

 

 

 

 

 

How about something exotic and blue like this blue lei made with many petals of the

blue jade vine, a rare beauty only to be seen at this beautiful festival of aloha.

 

 

 

 

Yes to receive a lei from someone special is a wonderful gift...but giving one away is even more true with the meaning of lei giving and sharing your aloha.

 

 

 

To view other fertilizer posts go visit http://www.tootsietime.com and be surprised.