About custom
Cherry, that is, May is an old Punat custom held every year in the spring. The custom would be held on the occasion of the departure of young men from Punat to the army and is a farewell of one generation.
Historical significance
"On the first Sunday of May, they put a cherry tree in front of the house of a girl. That tree is called "May".
The custom of decorating the cherry blossoms has continued to this day on Punat, but in a different form than this one describes Burbur. In any case, both on Punat and in Krk, the topic of custom is the cherry and unmarried girls. While from Burbur's meager description one could conclude that the cherry tree, cut down, was carried in front of the windows of those girls who got engaged that year, on Punat, a tree is placed on the waterfront, and they dance under it, and the main organizers of the national celebration are young men and women of marriageable age. First on a Sunday in May, young men ready for military service planted a cut cherry tree, which the girls with handkerchiefs. Mandatory military service no longer exists, but the custom remains. It is created by the people rejoicing with dancing and drinking wine, and young men from Punat keep watch until dawn and young men from other countries places do not break the cherry, which is a great shame. The methods of "hostile" intrusion have changed throughout history.
The very custom of decorating the cherry tree, according to the folklore of Punat, originates from the time of the first settlements Croats to the island of Krk. Newly immigrated families stayed together at first and in the first phase they were nomads did not have permanent settlements. Little by little, the population grew, and they began to settle permanently settle, in groups, on different parts of the island. That's why they chose that one day a year, on the first Sunday in May and everyone gathered that day somewhere near Lakmartin, where the mercury was springing water. There grew a big cherry tree, which they decorated with scarves, under which they danced, ate and had fun are. It was an opportunity for relatives to meet again after a year, the older ones traded and the younger ones met and fell in love. As the centuries passed, once tiny settlements became everything more numerous and there was no longer a need to go to Lakmartin in search of companionship. The young people started to marry within their settlements. Puntari, and some others, still kept the custom of decorating the cherry tree, with the exception that everyone took it to their own settlement.
source: Alan Zic
The generation that goes into the army and the generation that comes after it would be the Mayan organizers. The young men who went to the army that year, before their departure, would go from house to house to girls' houses and ask them for scarves. The girls would give the boys scarves, which they would wear around their necks and with which they would later decorate the cherry. If the girl did not open the door or did not want to give the headscarf, the young men would later make a despet.
To get cherries, people usually went to Risika or Malinska, where cherries were bought, donated, and sometimes stolen. After the cherry was procured, a festival would be organized, the so-called "Sunday of May" which would always take place in the center of the village. Music would be organized, young men and women would gather, as well as other villagers.
An indispensable part of the festival was the "home dance" accompanied by sopilas, which would be danced by the young men who did the Maj together with the girls who gave the scarves. At that time, the headscarf had a special meaning. Girls gave scarves to their boyfriends and promised them that they would wait for them until they returned from the army. For this reason, May was an opportunity for all curious villagers to find out who was with whom. (especially to curious grandmothers).
After the festival, the cherry had to be kept so that someone from the older generation would not steal it or cut it, because then it would be a shame for the generation that organized May.
source: Orlić family
Local dance
During weddings and celebrations on the island of Krk, original folk dances are still performed today. Tanac, polka, suprota and shoto are performed accompanied by the folk instrument sopile.
