The Show Must Go On

According to the Washington Post, for centuries, many cultures have celebrated May Day as the first day of summer, even though May 1st comes near the start of spring. It's a time for saying goodbye to the long, cold winter and welcoming warmer weather by gathering flowers, singing, dancing and, well, flirting.

 

May Day traditions include the crowning of a May queen (and sometimes a king) to oversee the day's activities, children and grown-ups filling May baskets with candy or flowers and secretly leave them on neighbors' porches. People were told that if they went outside early on May 1 and washed their face with dew, their skin would be more beautiful. We can't verify this so do so at your own risk. 

 

Probably the best-known May Day activity is the ever-popular maypole dance, the dancers moving in patterns around the pole to weave the ribbons into colorful designs.

 

This tradition doesn't seem to have caught on with Hallmark yet. And, from the photo, I can see why. 

 

The American Gem Society International Conclave is the jewelry industry's most prestigious event, each year creating an educational Mecca for jewelry professionals.

This April Jim Summa, Marsha McHugh and Anne Howitt from Summa Jewelers attended the conclave along with over 700 other profesionals of the jewelry trade. The attendees had over 70 classes and seminars to choose from.

Held at the Del Coronado Hotel in San Diego, California, the AGS Conclave is the kind of sacrifice jewelers have to make to keep abreast of the industry. Okay, it wasn't that much of a sacrifice.