Lei Day 2026

Lei Day

Today is May Day, but in Hawaii, where I live, it is also Lei Day. celebrating the lei, or Hawaiian flower necklace.  Today we will look at a guy in the World Naked Bike Ride in Brighton, England in 2018 who wore a lei and not much else.  His lei is made of plastic flowers, not real ones, but I'll excuse him.

At some point he went into the Victoria Fountain in the Old Steine Gardens.

Here he is in the fountain.

Climbing out of the fountain

Dancing with other WNBR participants.

More dancing.

We end with a view of him wearing his lei above the crowd.

Lei Day 2025

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Lei Day 2024

Lei Day

May 1st is celebrated as a holiday in many different ways.  In European tradition, it is called May Day, marking the beginning of summer.  May 1st also the related Gaelic or pagan festival Beltane, also marking the beginning of summer.  More recently, May 1st has become International Workers Day, celebrating the labor movement.

But in Hawaii, May 1st is Lei Day, celebrating the lei, or flower necklace, as part of Hawaiian culture.  Above, Lei Day by Hawaiian artist Douglas Simonson.

Another painting by Douglas Simonson, this one called Pink Blossoms.

Leis are traditionally made from flowers.  The one above is made from orchids.

Another flower lei.

But leis do not have to be made of flowers.  Above is a lei for men made out of kukui nuts.

Another kukui nut lei.

And, of course, some leis are made from artificial flowers.  This is Maka, a 20-year-old surfboard instructor.

Derek is wearing a traditional (though artificial) lei around his neck, and a decidedly non-traditional lei in another location.

We end with some extracts from a video of Derek and his leis.