The month of May is dedicated to Mary, Queen of Earth and Heaven. I’ve got two super easy, low stress activities to start your May off on the right liturgical foot!
First, do you know about Mary Gardens?
Mary Gardens are small indoor gardens or big outdoor gardens with flowers that you plant specifically for Mary. These don’t have to be anything expensive or complicated at ALL.
Some common Mary Garden flowers include:
Pansies (they symbolize Our Lady’s delight)
Tulip (Mary’s prayers)
Columbines (Our Lady’s shoes)
Forget-Me-Not’s (Eyes of Mary)
Roses (Mary’s flowers)
Marigold (Mary’s gold)
Morning Glories (Our Lady’s mantle)
Snapdragons (Infant Jesus’ shoes)
Daffodils (Mary’s star)
Don’t have any of those, but have some dandelions growing in the backyard? Perfect. Dig them up with their roots, stick them in a pot with some fresh dirt, add a Mary statue and viola! A Mary Garden!
Don’t have a Mary statue? No problem. Just print out a Mary statue picture, laminate it (and by laminate I mean wrap in clear packing tape), and stick her in with your beautiful flower garden. Even a laminated holy card will work! The important thing here is to add a reminder of Mary presence.
If you HAVE been looking to add a statue to your outdoor space, this Mary statue is beautiful and won’t kill your bank account.
Creating a Mary Garden is such a great, easy activity for kids. It even allows you to introduce big-world concepts like precipitation, plant life cycles, pollination, etc. You can also add fun things like painted rocks, pinwheels to represent prayer intentions, or a garden bench!
Mary Crowning
The second May activity is to hold a Mary Crowning. Crowning Mary with flowers is a simple Catholic tradition that recognizes Mary as our Queen. You can crown your Mary statue that’s in your Mary Garden or crown a Mary that’s in your house!
Make or buy a wreath with real or artificial flowers weaved into it. You can have your children “process” down to Mary with the crown on a pillow, or keep it simple and don’t! Other children can bring flowers down and lay them at Mary’s feet. If you want to get real fancy the children can dress up in their First Communion dresses or Sunday best.
Typically you say a prayer like the Hail Mary as everyone processes down, or sing a Marian song like Ave Maria. A quick google search of “Marian hymns” or “Prayers about Mary” will bring up plenty of options!
After the crowning, it’s fun to celebrate with a little party and snacks such as flower-shaped cookies, but definitely NOT necessary. Oreo’s anyone? The white could symbolize…new life bursting out of a dark seed…?
Have fun, and don’t let yourself get overwhelmed. The best thing about kids is they don’t notice if you flub over your words or aren’t a total expert on things. They’re just going to be happy to be doing an activity with you and learning about such a special lady.
I hope you find these two activities useful and doable. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect. Just get out there and expose your children to a few beautiful Catholic traditions! Shoot me a message (click Contact Us! at the top of this page) with pictures of your celebrations! I would absolutely love to see them.
