May Crowning

Many Catholic, and some Orthodox and Anglican churches, celebrate the ritual of May Crowning. Around May Day ( sometimes Mother's Day), it is traditional for a statue or icon of Mary to be decorated with a crown of leaves to signify her position as Queen of Heaven and Mother of God.

This year YaYa's second grade class, fresh from First Communion ceremonies over the previous month, was given the honor of the Crowning. From a practical point of view this boiled down to a chance for her class, which had been divided and shoved upon their home parishes for Communion, the opportunity to proudly display their Communion outfits to the rest of the school.



During the Mass YaYa was one of the kids to walk up and present the gifts of Bread and Wine to the priest. Afterwards, it was time for picture taking and a social get-together in the church basement. Here's YaYa and her classmate Annabelle:



and their class













For most of the social YaYa wanted nothing to do with us - no anger involved, just the usual urge for a kid to hang out and play with her friends.





But she came around in time for some pictures with her parents:





It was a very pleasant and friendly way to spend a weekday morning.