On May 1st, Hawaii celebrates "May Day, Lei Day," a tradition started in 1927 by a Honolulu Star-Bulletin newspaper columnist to celebrate the tradition of making and giving of the Hawaiian lei. In Hawaii, the most popular occasions one might see a lei being given would be at graduations, birthdays, weddings, funerals, retirement parties, or as a greeting. Often times, a lei is given with a kiss on the cheek, a tradition started during World War II.
This May 1st, the associates at the Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa celebrated "May Day, Lei Day" with a lei competition. Associates at the Hawaii hotel made their own lei out of natural materials found on Hawaii's Big Island such as plumeria flowers, ti leaf, lehua blossom, even roses. Their lei will be displayed in our hotel lobby, where fellow associates and hotel guests can vote for the best lei in the following categories: Most Creative, Most Traditional, Most Original. We will also have employees from our Front Desk, Sales and Food & Beverage departments dance the hula in our lobby through out the day!
- Keikilani, Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa associate and Kumu Hula (hula teacher)
May Day is the perfect time to celebrate the aloha spirit in Hawaii! We use this day to connect with our hotel guests beyond the services and activities they normally receive. This May Day, associates of JW Marriott Ihilani Resort & Spa held our first-ever May Day celebration with a lei-giving ceremony. For the past two weeks, we have been handpicking ti leaves and flowers from our own backyards and making hundreds of lei. Then, at 10:00am, we gathered in the lobby and gave lei to guests.
We ended the event with everyone, associates and guests, joining hands and singing "Hawaii Aloha." It was truly a "chicken skin" moment!
This also marked the first activity for Na Lama Ku, our new associate-formed Hawaiian cultural group. Meaning “keepers of the flame,” Na Lama Ku is made up of associates from the JW Marriott Ihilani Resort & Spa. We created the group to help perpetuate our sense of place by utilizing our own resources and getting our associates involved as much as possible.
- Jamie, JW Marriott Ihilani Resort & Spa associate
