The May Procession

There is something so special about May. In the movie Camelot, they sung of the ‘merry month of May’. Each spring we shed the heaviness of the winter months. In May, the spring comes to full bloom and with the warmth of the sun we come to fruition also.

Many cultures over the ages have celebrated with flowers & song for any number of reasons. In parochial schools, we celebrate Mary. This is Mary’s month world round.

As students of St. Mary’s School, we didn’t just get ready for the annual May procession, we prepared for it. THIS was a celebration! The time honored tradition dictated hymns, flowers, our best clothes and mostly…our best behavior. We memorized hymns, practiced our singing, and perfected our posture while standing still! I can’t be sure, but I think we said extra prayers for the boys’ best possible behavior. If we didn’t, I’m sure the nuns did! After all, this wasn’t just a St Mary’s Fairy thing. The entire congregation was invited! This was a celebration of Mary in front of the entire town! We were the principal celebrants, all eight grades participating in flawless harmony.

As this was all-inclusive within the parish, that meant full family participation too! Get out the Easter clothes; polish the shoes; matching purses, shoes, gloves & hats for the ladies; men dusted off their best Sunday suits, ties with a tie tack, cuffs with cufflinks; girls had their locks curled with ‘Dippity-do’, boys got their hair combed with ‘Brylcreem’. Where are the camera, film & flashbulbs?

Baths for everybody!!!

In the best fashion known to us, we donned our finery, placed wreaths on our heads and carried bouquets. We took family & parish photos, smiled a lot, sang our best, fidgeted a little. This day carried our tradition for another year. The celebration instilled in us memories for a lifetime. 



We can now smile politely at the ‘flourish & formality’ of the times. As we pull out the family photos, some wrinkled in the backs of bureaus & boxes, the black & white memories come alive again. (Smile.) I like to think we made our families proud. I hope the Sisters of St. Joseph felt the same way. Mary too!

As we the SMFs gathered this past May, we set aside time to celebrate in the same fashion. (Less pomp, less circumstance.) Hot off the press (downloaded from the Internet) were our hymns, headpieces prepared in advance, fresh flowers cut from the garden, matching capes, and our hand painted Madonna all ready for a procession of honor. The voices were slightly off-key (practice lasting only minutes) for a much smaller audience. The procession only went around the yard instead of the streets surrounding the church. We sang. We laughed. We cried. We cheered. We celebrated. We were one in memories. We were one in honoring the past as we carried our tradition fifty years into the future to our present day. We knew Mary was there smiling & celebrating with us. We could feel it in the air.

Cathy

Our May Procession 2011

Bring flow'rs of the fairest,
Bring flow'rs of the rarest,
From garden and woodland
And hillside and vale;
Our full hearts are swelling,
Our glad voices telling
The praise of the loveliest
Rose of the vale.

 O Mary! We crown thee with blossoms today,
Queen of the Angels, Queen of the May,
O Mary we crown thee with blossoms today,
Queen of the Angels, Queen of the May.