Lei Day and the Hawaiian Tradition of Lei Making

On a gray afternoon along the Kohala Coast, I sat down to string a lei. In a basket before me were plumeria, miniature crownflowers and Song of India leaves. I was with Kaʻiulani Blankenfeld, the director of Hawaiian culture at the Fairmont Orchid, who teaches lei-making and a variety of other cultural classes to resort guests.

We were making lei kui. Kui, meaning "to sew," is done with a thread and needle — in this case, an 8-inch lei needle. After tying a sturdy knot, you slide flowers and leaves down the needle one by one in whatever order looks beautiful to you.

In hula, dancers are required to make their own lei to wear when they perform. Most people make or purchase a lei to give away. To give someone a lei is to blanket them in a particular intention — love, safety, protection, good luck or anything you wish. You could use it to ward off something that is threatening someone you love, or use it to celebrate a special occasion such as a birthday, graduation or arrival to the islands. Think of the lei as a circle of love and aloha.

After the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893, everything Hawaiian became illegal in Hawaiʻi. Speaking the Hawaiian language, dancing hula, singing Hawaiian songs and practicing Hawaiian herbal medicine were all prohibited. Lei-making was one of the few Hawaiian traditions that continued to flourish.

In the early 1900s, when visitors began arriving on steamships they were greeted with a lei, and when they boarded the ship to return home, they would throw their lei into the ocean. As the story goes, if your lei floated back to shore, it meant you too would return to Hawaiʻi.

In the 1940s, lei-makers began selling lei at what is now Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu. Lei stands can still be found today, lined up along the left side of the airport entry road near Terminal 1, open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. It is customary to greet your loved one with a lei at baggage claim or when you pick them up curbside.

Since its inception, the lei has benefited from centuries of innovation. Blankenfeld remarked on how inspired she is by what lei-makers are creating today.

Depending on the material used, every lei will represent different intentions. "Every lei is precious and has a different meaning," Blankenfeld said.

• Niʻihau shell lei: Originating on the island of Niʻihau, this lei is a prized possession known for its elegance and rarity. Many are held in museums or private collections, or sold at a premium.

• Kukui lei: "Kukui means light, knowledge and enlightenment," Blankenfeld said. "The intention of honoring anyone with a lei kukui, whether it's the nuts or the leaves or the flowers, is that you would be enlightened, that you would grow in your knowledge, share your knowledge, hold on to that knowledge. Or just shine bright like the lights of the people that you love."

• Feather lei: "Feather lei are the most prized," Blankenfeld said. "In old Hawaiʻi, only the aliʻi wore feather lei."

• Flower lei: In ancient Hawaiʻi, lei were commonly made with ʻōhiʻa lehua, yellow ʻilima and naupaka flowers, the fruits of the hala tree, maile vines and tī leaves. Most flowers and leaves used for lei-making today are imported to Hawaiʻi, as locally grown flowers cannot keep up with demand. The purple orchid lei found in ABC Stores, Longs and grocery stores come from Thailand. Besides orchid, plumeria, carnation and pikake are also popular choices.

• Forever lei: Today's lei-makers are increasingly creative, working with materials that will last forever, such as leather, wood, beads and glass. These become art pieces and jewelry in some cases.

Rather than celebrating May Day on May 1 — a European tradition marking the start of summer — Hawaiʻi celebrates Lei Day. The occasion honors not only the Hawaiian lei but also the colors and flora designated to each Hawaiian island.

• Hawaiʻi Island: Red, ʻōhiʻa lehua (myrtle family)

• Maui: Pink, lokelani (pink Damask rose)

• Oʻahu: Yellow, ʻilima (hibiscus species)

• Kauaʻi: Purple, mokihana berry

• Molokaʻi: Green, pua kukui (blossom of the candlenut tree)

• Lānaʻi: Orange, kaunaoa (native dodder)

• Kahoʻolawe: Gray, hinahina (native beach heliotrope)

• Niʻihau: White, pūpū shell (tiny white Niʻihau shells)

• Hawaiʻi state flower: Native yellow hibiscus

In 1914, Charles E. King composed the song "Nā Lei O Hawaiʻi," which described the flowers, colors and landscapes of each Hawaiian island. An event hosted by the Kaʻahumanu Society, where members performed the song with each woman adorned in lei made with their island's corresponding flower or plant, became so popular that the connection between designated colors, lei and their respective islands became widely accepted across the islands.

In 1923, the Hawaiʻi Territorial Legislature passed Joint Resolution No. 1, making the floral emblems official. In 1927, Honolulu Star-Bulletin writers Don Blanding and Grace Tower Warren came up with the idea of having an annual festival to honor the lei tradition. The first festival and lei competition — where lei were judged on appropriate use of each island's designated flowers and colors — was held on May 1, 1928 and was called Lei Day.

The tradition has continued every year since, commemorated by this song:

May Day is Lei Day in Hawaiʻi

Garlands of flowers everywhere

May Day is Lei Day in Hawaiʻi

May Day is happy day out here

To give someone a lei, place it around the person's neck and offer a kiss on the cheek. Let the lei drape evenly over both shoulders, front and back. If the lei is tied with a ribbon, position the ribbon so it rests on the shoulder.

It is considered bad luck to give a pregnant woman a closed lei. Instead, choose an open-ended lei such as a maile lei, or a haku lei, which is worn on the head. Never remove a lei in the presence of the person who gave it to you, and never refuse a lei.

At the end of our lei-making session, Blankenfeld offered a parting thought: go home and look at the plants growing around you. "You can make lei with anything," she said. She followed with a warning to do my homework first. Make sure the plant is not poisonous and not growing in someone else's yard — If it is, ask permission before picking — she said. Her final tips were to rinse all my materials well to remove sap or bugs and lay them out to dry. Then, store the finished lei in the refrigerator until gifting to keep the flowers and leaves as fresh as possible. I can do that, I left thinking. I should do that.