Happy Lei Day

by Jill Steele

The History of the Hawaiian Lei

The lei, the ultimate symbol of  love and Aloha in Hawaii, has been an important part of Hawaiian culture in both ancient and present times.

Double Orchid Lei

The ancient Hawaiians made their lei of hair, bone, ivory, seeds, teeth, feathers, and shells as well as adorning and beautifying themselves with the colorful flower and braided leaf leis most commonly known today. They made lei for each other and for their Gods as signs of love and affection. The flowers they used had both religious and mythological meanings.

Leis made of sweet smelling fruit of the hala tree were associated with both love and desire, as well as marking a transition, or passing.  Even today, many Hawaiians are superstitious and don't wear hala-fruit leis.  Red Lehua blossoms were and are still considered the flower of Pele, the volcano goddess and her sister Hiiaka. Lehua blossoms are thrown into the volcanoes today as offerings to Pele.  The Kukui nut lei was worn only by the Alii (royalty).  The Kukui tree, also known as the candlenut tree provided light in the form of torches made from the  the kokui nuts.  The nuts were also used for their oil and in religious practices.

Maile lei

Fragrant Maile leaf leis, worn freely by ancient Hawaiians of all classes, were associated with worshipping the gods of hula.  Plumeria , one of today's most commonly used  lei flowers, actually originated in Mexico and Central America and was first cultivated in Hawaii around 1860.  Dendrobium orchids, another of the  flower  popular lei  flower today, because of both its beauty and heartiness were first brought to Hawaii from the Phillipines in 1896.

Beginning in the late 1800’s when steamships brought visitors to the islands, the beautiful Hawaiian wahine (women) swam out to the ships to welcome the visitors with colorful, fragrant leis.  People began to create legends about the lei. Some said the lei was lucky. The most popular legend was that upon leaving Hawaii to return home to the mainland, if you tossed your lei overboard and it floated toward the beach, you would someday return to the Hawaiian islands. In the 1800's when a steamship would leave the island, hundreds of leis thrown by tourists would be seen floating on the surface of the ocean.

 Jack London  wrote a book of short stories called  "Stories of Hawaii"  chronicling  life in 1800's Hawaii.  In a story about Alexander Liholiho, who later became King Kamehameho IV,  he wrote about the festive wearing of leis by the Hawaiian paniolo (cowboys) .  "And they came, riding up from Kawaihae, where they landed from the Royal Yacht, the whole glorious calvacade of them, two by two, flower-garlanded, young and happy, on Parker Ranch horses, thirty of them in the party, a hundred Parker Ranch cowboys and as as many of their retainers-a royal progress.

Today lei are given to mark important events.  They are given for births, birthdays, graduations, weddings, religious ceremonies, engagements and are even given and worn for funerals.  When famous professional surfer Andy Irons died this year, thousands of his friends and fellow surfers paddled out in the ocean on surfboards with leis and flower offerings to honor him.
In Hawaii, the giving of graduation lei is a longstanding tradition.  Graduates of of all ages are given many leis by friends and relatives. It is common to see graduates wearing leis piled on top of each other all the way up their necks!   Leis are fun to wear and make the graduation ceremony even more beautiful and colorful. The Aloha spirit of lei giving for graduation has now spread to the mainland too.  Each year thousands of  leis are shipped to mainland high school and college graduations.

There is even a special day in Hawaii known as Lei Day.  Lei day is May 1, the same as May Day.   Everyone from schoolchildren to executives wear leis on this day.   It was first observed in 1929, the idea of writer Don Blanding, who wanted  "a day of general rejoicing over the fact that one lived in a Paradise. Let it be a day for remembering old friends, renewing neglected contacts, with the slogan Aloha, allowing that flexible word to mean friendliness on that day."  In Hawaii lei making begins as early as pre-school where large mounds of fragrant flowers are placed in the center of the tables to be strung into colorful leis to be worn for the May Day/Lei Day festival.
One little known fact by mainlanders is the word lei is both singular and plural.   There is no letter "s" in the Hawaiian language.  The "s" has been added and is commonly used so as not to confuse those not local to Hawaii.
By tradition, a lei must be presented by placing the lei around the recipient's neck and followed by a kiss on the cheek.  After receiving a lei, the recipient should never remove it in the presence of the giver.  When it is no longer fresh, a lei should be given back to the earth by removing the flowers and disposing of the string.  Never put a lei  in the trash! 
  Sources:
http://www.natural-elements-online.com/history-of-kukui-tree.asp
Hula Moons by Don Blanding
Coffeetimes.com
Hawaiiforvisitors.com
Hawaiian Lei Making Step by Step Guide by Laurie Shimizu Ide
http://www.plumerias.com/weblog/history_and_research/
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/160/