May 1st is Lei Day in Hawai’i. Pronounced “Lay”.
A wreath of flowers strung together using a long needle on dental floss, worn as a head Lei, on a hat or over the head on the shoulders. Often given to airport arrivals, birthday and weddings as pictured above. These are made by Hawai’is legend Aunty Maile a descendant of the Ali‘i Alapa‘i family.
Colorful feathers make spectacular looking Leis but take a long time to collect enough feathers off of live birds, so only the Hawaiian Royalty got those. Many are preserved today in the Bishop museum in Honolulu where the lost art and ancient traditions are practiced today.
Once you have been gifted a Lei you should never re-give it or throw it away, this is considered bad bad manners. Some folks make offerings by throwing them in the ocean. Also a bad idea as it can negatively affect marine life like Honu (turtles). Better to put a Lei on your dashboard as you cruise the Big Island of Hawai’i, makes the car smell plenty good.
