Saturday, April 05, 2008

Honey Moon Greeting Card

HoneymoonDid you know that the full moon in June was called the honey moon? The name comes from ancient times where tradition holds this is the best time to harvest honey from the hives when they should be full. This was also the traditional month for weddings, between the planting and harvesting of the crops. Many ancient people believed that the union of the Goddess and God occurred in early May (see May Day Baskets blog entry). Since it was considered unlucky to compete with the deities, couples would delay their marriages until June. This remains a favorite month for weddings today. In some traditions, the honey harvested in June would have been fermented and made into mead to drink after the wedding ceremonies held on Summer Solstice. Newly wed couples were also fed dishes that featured honey for the first month of their married life to encourage love and fertility. This is how the holiday immediately after the ceremony derived its name: Honeymoon.

When our illustrator, Pamela McCarville, came upon this story, she created the adorable "Bee Happy" Honey Moon greeting card which is now available through the All Us All the Time online gift store.

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