The Word of the Day is "Lei"

Aloha mai kākou,

I took the easy route today and chose the word ‘lei’, since it is a product that we sell at 2Honu.com.  Lei (pronounced as  lay) is a garland of flowers, beads, ornaments, or anything strung together, to wear around the neck, or head.  It is given to show affection, celebration, gratitude, accomplishment or to welcome you.  The lei was brought to Hawai’i by the early Polynesian settlers, who traveled thousands of miles by way of canoe.  Our ancestors wore lei of flowers, foliage, plants, nuts, seeds, vines, feathers, hair, whale bone and teeth.  They made lei to adorn and beautify themselves, distinguish their status amongst the people, to show their respect to a specific deity, offer a symbol of peace, and also show their aloha for another. 

During the Boat days of the early 1900’s, lei were given to visitors arriving and departing and also to welcome back the locals.  The piers were lined with lei vendors who sold their colorful, fragrant, and beautiful garlands. Those who departed on the ships often tossed their lei into the sea, in hopes of returning to the islands. Hawai’i and its lei tradition was popular worldwide and continues to live on into the current times. You can still find lei at the airports, florists, online (like 2Honu.com … ;o) ), and the famous ‘Chinatown’, in downtown Honolulu! 

Growing up in Hawai’i, lei was a part of life. I received them as birthday gifts, appreciation, May Day and who can forget…..GRADUATION!!!! Woo hoo! Ask any local graduate about their graduation and they’ll show you just how high their lei pile was!!! And who can forget singing, “May day, is lei day in Hawai’i…”.  I’m not sure about all schools, but the schools I attended had a royal court with a king, a queen, ladies in waiting, and a prince and princess who represented every major Hawaiian island.  The kids would perform a dance or sing a song, and we had a special lunch in school…. Ok, well it was spinach and pork, not to be confused with the tasty laulau (a future word of the day, for those who are unfamiliar with this…lol).

I’m lucky to have come from a line of lei makers.  My grandparents were well known for their yellow ginger, puakenikeni, and crown flower lei. Several of my aunties and cousins are also talented florists and lei makers!  It was also destiny, upon meeting my husband, that my mother-in-law was truly blessed in the art of lei and exquisite handmade crafts. 

Hope you enjoyed today’s word.

A hui hou,

Haunani