HONOLULU (KHON2) — May Day is Lei Day in Hawaiʻi, but the celebration is about far more than flowers. A lei can mark a graduation, welcome a loved one home, celebrate friends and family on special days or honor someone who has passed.
It can be simple or elaborate and can be made from flowers, shells, seeds, nuts, feathers or leaves. What matters most is not the material but rather the intention of the one making and giving the lei.
Kumu Bradford Lum, Kumu Hula and Native Hawaiian cultural practitioner, said lei making begins with intention…