Vivid Memories About May

Spring will end soon and the blooms that we see all around us will soon wane eventually holding a promise that they will again come back next year.

It always amazed me that it's already the first day of the month of May today. It reminded me of the "Flores de Mayo" and the "Santa Cruzan" in the Philippines. While the flowers were gradually be gone here in the western hemisphere they will eventually start to bloom there in the eastern part of the globe.

I remember when we were little, we used to huddle our asses to the church in the afternoon bringing flowers on hand to offer them to the mother Mary after our catechism classes. We call it "Flores de Mayo" which technically means "May of Flowers" or just plainly flower offering.

But to us little kids it is the month of going to church religiously to offer flowers to the Mother Mary. Since May in the Philippines is a vacation month all children were encouraged to go to church as an option to attend cathechism classes and be taught how to pray and learn stories from the Bible where we can learn about different values like patience, humility, forgiveness, happiness, sadness  to name some. I myself benefitted from that cathechism classes.

After the classes all the children were being gathered inside the church to pray for the fifteen mysteries of the rosary led by a nun or a well-known woman figure (I remember Sister Auring Landar) and all the children being gathered inside the church will recite the Apostle's Creed, Hail Mary's, and Glory Be's in chorus. 

Then later in the afternoon an offering of flowers to the Virgin Mary at the altar was being held and then the children were given some goodies to enjoy for coming to the afternoon catechism classes and the flower offering. Those were the things that I can still recall. And I know until now this tradition was still being upheld there in my hometown.

We do these classes for the whole month, every day in the afternoon. Some children who will complete the whole month without absences were also given some prices at the end of the month. Prizes ranges from rosaries, Bibles, medals, ribbons, goodies, even money.

We do this at the last day of the month where we have a big program and all the children and the sisters (women volunteers who teaches catechisms) were present to make it more festive. We have games, party, plays, and even singing contest. It was a very fond memories that I can still remember.

May was also the month of "Santa Cruzan", a tradition we inherited from the Spaniards. Where in we Catholics reinacted the finding of Jesus' cross by Reyna Elena and Reyna Emperatriz.

We held processions were all the beautiful ladies wearing pretty gowns paraded with an arch adorned with beautiful flowers around the church's courtyard playing the roles of Reyna Elena and Reyna Emperatriz and all the lady saints the church has come up.

It was a very festive event that's always being celebrated every end of the month. There were programs held and also dancing on the streets. Then after that there will be food festivals and party being held at the church's courtyard. The whole town was also celebrating commemorating that the month of May ends which is culminated by this procession of flowers and beauties.

It was still a vivid memory for me. And that's the one I really missed after deciding to come here in America nineteen years ago. I never had attended any one of those celebrations after that. I saw some in the television but the feeling of being there was very different. The excitement and the fun for being there is just so enormous that couldn't be explained even with very elaborate words.

May here in America is the end of Spring and the coming in of Summer. All the flowers that blooms everywhere will be all gone and the humidity of the weather rises in the atmosphere.The celebration of Memorial Day which heralds the approaching Summer season will be soon evident.

During Memorial Day people of all walks of life comes out in the open field and feel the scorching heat of the sun by celebrating with families in the park camping, eating, playing, talking, drinking beer, and hanging out. In short, it is a good way of getting together as a family and spending quiet times with each other.

Memorial Day is also a day for blockbuster movies coming out and for people to watch out who grossed the most. It is also a day where people go to the movie houses and watch those big time and big budget movies. I can't wait what will be in store for this coming Memorial Day for the movie industry.

I know, me and my friends. will gonna go camping for this coming Memorial Day and I can't wait for that. If that happens this will be the first time that I can do it. Yay! I'm still crossing my fingers. I hope my job won't be on the way. I'm really looking forward for that.

So as May started to take off now, things are just in the right track. I will be embarking a two week vacation to France early this month. Hopefully, everything will be more fun and memorable for me when I am there.

I remember last year, I also had a two week vacation in Washington state and stayed most of the time in Seattle with friends. It was also a very fun and memorable vacation that time trying to squeezed our time well to see and visit a lot of beautiful places around Washington state and Oregon as well. My experiences that time were so massive that I still can even recall them clearly in my mind.

I hope my France vacation will be the same as well or even more than that. I'm getting very excited already. Can't wait for it to happen.