May--The Month of Mary, Mother of Jesus

When I was a kid at St. William's School in Euclid, Ohio in the 1950's and early 1960's, we had a "May Crowning" every year to honor Mary, the Mother of Jesus. A flower crown was woven together and placed on the head of the statue of Mary while students and teachers sang beautiful Marian hymns. I loved those songs and still catch myself singing them to this day: "Bring flowers of the rarest, bring flowers of the fairest. . . ." and "O Mary we greet thee with blossoms today, Queen of the Angels, Queen of the May."

There are a number of May Crowning videos on http://www.youtube.com/ if you want to see what they look and sound like. Here is a link to the tune and lyrics of "Bring Flowers of the Rarest": http://junior.apk.net/~bmames/ht0460_.htm

I will attach the lyrics of one of my favorite May Crowning songs,"Bring Flowers of the Fairest." As with many folk songs, there are multiple versions and the author is not known.

A shortened version:

Bring flowers of the rarest,
Bring blossoms the fairest,
From garden and woodland and hillside and dale;
Our full hearts are swelling,
Our glad voices telling
The praise of the loveliest flower of the vale.

Chorus: O Mary, we crown thee with blossoms today,
Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May,
O Mary, we crown thee with blossoms today,
Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May.

Their lady they name thee,
Their mistress proclaim thee,
Oh, grant that thy children on earth be as true
As long as the bowers
Are radiant with flowers
As long as the azure shall keep its bright hue.

Chorus. O Mary, we crown thee with blossoms today,
Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May,
O Mary, we crown thee with blossoms today,
Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May.

Sing gaily in chorus,
The bright angels o'er us
Re-echo the strains we begin upon earth;
Their harps are repeating
The notes of our greeting,
For Mary herself is the cause of our mirth. Chorus.