May is for Mary

May is Traditionally Mary’s month, dating back to medieval times when St. Philip of Neri decorated the statue of the Blessed Mother with spring flowers. Here are some ideas to do with your children to honor Mary this Month:

1. Pray the Litany to Mary Click here

2. Write and illustrate a prayer to Mary

3. Have a family May-Crowning

4. Pray the Rosary together

5. Plant a Mary Garden

Mary Gardens are small gardens, usually containing a statue of the Blessed Mother along with symbolic flowers and herbs, and occasionally a small stone wall. Suggested flowers include:

§ red roses to symbolize Our Lady’s sorrows

§ white roses to symbolize her joys

§ yellow roses to herald her glories

§ Marigolds—legend says Mary’s dresses were adorned with these

§ Lily-of-the-valley

§ Violets symbolize Mary’s humility

§ Rosemary (legend says the bush’s white flowers turn blue in reward for the service it offered when the Mary used it to spread her child’s tiny clothes on after washing them on the way to Egypt)

§ Blue flowers (the traditional color attributed to Our Lady)

(garden info courtesy "Catholic Traditions in the Home and the Classroom, Ann Ball)