In 1978, the Hawaii State Legislature codified something unusual: a law defining “Aloha Spirit” as “the coordination of mind and heart within each person,” bringing the individual to the self through traits like kindness, unity, and humility. The same statute acknowledges that aloha is “more than a word of greeting or farewell” — it is “mutual regard and affection” extended “with no obligation in return.”
“Aloha” means to hear what is not said, to see what cannot be seen and to know the unknowable. — Hawaii Revised Statutes § 5-7.5
That legal definition did not come from nowhere. It drew on generations of Hawaiian cultural practice, and few objects embody that practice more directly than the lei — the garland of flowers, shells, feathers, or fibers given and received across the islands. The lei is aloha made tangible: a circle with no beginning and no end, offered freely, received with gratitude. But the relationship between leis and the Aloha Spirit is more layered than a simple equation. It carries contested origins, regional variation, and a quiet tension between commercial packaging and living tradition.
Leis celebrate the Aloha Spirit by materializing its core values — kindness, unity, patience — in a form meant to be given without expectation of return. But that relationship is not static. The same statute that codifies Aloha Spirit also raises questions about whether a cultural value can coexist with federal law, and the lei itself has evolved through imported flowers, airport concessions, and a century of Lei Day celebrations that balance preservation with change.
What the Aloha Spirit Law Actually Says
The Aloha Spirit statute, codified as § 5-7.5 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes, lists five traits that together form its working philosophy: ahakahi (kindness expressed with tenderness), lōkahi (unity expressed with harmony), ʻoluʻolu (agreeableness expressed with pleasantness), haʻahaʻa (humility expressed with modesty), and ahonui (patience expressed with perseverance). The law describes these as “traits of character that express the charm, warmth and sincerity of Hawaii’s people” and notes that the concept was “the working philosophy of native Hawaiians” before being “presented as a gift to the people of Hawaiʻi.”
What makes this statute unusual is that it does not mandate behavior — it invites consideration. Section (b) states that legislators, executives, and judges “may contemplate and reside with the life force and give consideration to the ‘Aloha Spirit'” when exercising their power. That permissive language became the subject of legal debate in 2023, when Hawaii Supreme Court Justice Todd Eddins wrote in State v. Wilson that the Aloha Spirit should guide how the court interprets the federal Constitution, particularly regarding the Second Amendment. The U.S. Supreme Court later rejected that reading, with the plurality in McDonald v. Chicago holding that the Second Amendment carries the same meaning in all states — it “cannot give way to ‘the spirit of Aloha’ in Hawaii.”
This is a genuinely unresolved question: can a cultural value embedded in state law inform constitutional interpretation? The debate is ongoing, and it reveals something important about the Aloha Spirit — it is not a vague sentiment but a specific ethical framework with real-world implications.
Looking closer at the five traits of the Aloha Spirit statute reframes how we understand the lei. Each trait maps onto a dimension of lei-giving: kindness in the act of making and offering, unity in the circle shape, agreeableness in the greeting, humility in the giver’s posture, patience in the meticulous craft.
Lei Day: A Century of Making Aloha Visible
The lei’s connection to the Aloha Spirit finds its most public expression on May 1, known across the islands as Lei Day. The holiday began not as an ancient tradition but as a specific proposal by poet and journalist Don Blanding in a 1928 column for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Blanding suggested a day honoring the Hawaiian lei. Grace Tower Warren, another local figure, proposed tying it to May Day and coined the phrase “May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii.” The first celebration took place in the lobby of the Bank of Hawaii in 1928. Governor Wallace R. Farrington made it official statewide the following year.
The 2026 Lei Day marks the 98th celebration, with the theme ʻuala (sweet potato) — the third year of a four-year series tied to the Hōkūleʻa voyaging canoe’s Moananuiākea Voyage. The theme uses voyaging proverbs from Mary Kawena Pukui’s collection ʻŌlelo Noʻeau, and the official phrase is “Mai ka hoʻokuʻi i ka hālāwai” (“From zenith to horizon”). The ʻuala was an original canoe plant and a staple food crop, sometimes grown more widely than taro in certain periods.
The centerpiece of Lei Day on Oʻahu is the Lei Contest at Kapiʻolani Park. Participants submit handmade lei in categories including kui (strung), haku (braided), and wili (wound) techniques. Fresh flower lei must be submitted between 7:30 a.m. and 9 a.m., with an entry fee of $10 per lei. The exhibit displays hundreds of lei from 1 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. near the Waikīkī Shell parking lot. On May 2, the winning lei are carried to Mauna ʻAla (the Royal Mausoleum) at 9 a.m., then to Kawaiāhaʻo Church around 10:15 a.m., where they are placed on the graves of Hawaiʻi’s aliʻi (chiefs). The public is invited, and the Lei Court performs hula and oli (chant) before visitors help drape lei on the burial sites.
If you attend Lei Day at Kapiʻolani Park, arrive mid-morning to see the lei contest submissions before the exhibit opens at 1 p.m. Bring reef-safe sunscreen, a hat, and a reusable water bottle. Free lei-making workshops run all day near the bandstand — you can learn the kui or haku technique from local practitioners and make your own lei to wear or give.
The Anatomy of a Lei: Technique, Material, Island Identity
Lei-making is not a single craft but a family of techniques, each suited to different materials and occasions. The three most common methods are kui (stranding flowers, shells, or seeds on a needle and thread), haku (braiding leaves, ferns, or vines into a base), and wili (winding flowers and leaves around a fiber core). Contemporary makers often blend these techniques, and the choice of materials carries meaning — not just aesthetic but geographic and genealogical.
Each Hawaiian island has an official flower or bloom associated with lei-making, a system formalized in the early 20th century but rooted in older practices. The table below shows the current designations as recognized during Lei Day celebrations.
| Island | Official Bloom | Hawaiian Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oʻahu | Small golden-yellow flower | ʻIlima | Grows as a ground cover; flowers used in traditional kui lei |
| Maui | Small pink damask rose | Lokelani | Introduced species, now naturalized |
| Hawaiʻi (Big Island) | Red blossom of the ʻōhiʻa tree | Lehua | Sacred to Pele; picking is sometimes restricted by custom |
| Kauaʻi | Small green berry with anise scent | Mokihana | Grows only on Kauaʻi; dried berries retain fragrance for years |
| Molokaʻi | White blossom of the kukui tree | Kukui | Kukui is the state tree; blossoms are pale and delicate |
| Lānaʻi | Orange air vine | Kaunaʻoa | A parasitic vine that grows on other plants |
| Niʻihau | Tiny shells (not a flower) | Pūpū | Niʻihau’s “lei” are made of carefully strung shells, reflecting limited vegetation |
These designations are not rigid — contemporary lei makers experiment across islands and materials — but they reflect a system that ties the lei to specific places. A lei made of mokihana from Kauaʻi carries a different meaning than one made of lehua from the Big Island, even when the technique is identical.
A common outsider misconception is that a lei is simply a “flower necklace” or a generic tropical accessory. In Hawaiian practice, the choice of material, the technique used, and the occasion for giving all carry specific meaning. A kui lei of ʻilima for Oʻahu is not interchangeable with a haku lei of kaunaʻoa for Lānaʻi. The lei speaks to where it comes from and who made it.
Lei in Ceremony, Daily Life, and a Changing Landscape
Beyond Lei Day, the lei appears in weddings, graduations, birthdays, welcomes, farewells, and memorials. It is used in hula performance (where certain lei are reserved for specific dances), in religious ceremonies at churches and heiau (temples), and in everyday gestures of greeting or thanks. The giving of a lei is not transactional — the statute’s phrase “no obligation in return” captures a real cultural expectation. You receive a lei; you wear it. You do not hand it back.
The practical etiquette is straightforward: when someone places a lei over your head, you bow slightly to make it easier. Do not remove it in the presence of the giver. If you must take it off later, do so discreetly. Never throw a lei in the trash — hang it to dry, return it to the earth, or give it to someone else. These are not rigid rules but widely observed courtesies.
The lei landscape has changed significantly in recent decades. Airport lei stands, once a free greeting service for arriving passengers, have become paid concessions. Many lei sold commercially now use imported flowers — jasmine from Thailand, orchids from Southeast Asia — because local flower production cannot meet demand. Some lei makers have responded by emphasizing native materials and traditional techniques, teaching workshops that treat lei-making as a form of cultural preservation rather than souvenir production.
Context and Comparison: Techniques, Islands, and the Question of Authenticity
Lei-making techniques differ not just in method but in the kind of relationship they create between maker and material. The following table compares the three most common techniques.
| Technique | Method | Common Materials | Typical Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kui | Strung on needle and thread | Flowers, shells, seeds, feathers | Neck lei; most common technique for gift-giving |
| Haku | Braided or plaited | Leaves, ferns, vines, flowers woven into base | Head lei, hat bands, wrist lei |
| Wili | Wound around a fiber core | Flowers, leaves, ti leaf base | Thicker, more durable lei; often used for hula |
Lei Day celebrations across the islands reflect local character. The table below shows the main events on four islands.
| Island | Main Event | Features |
|---|---|---|
| Oʻahu | Kapiʻolani Park Celebration | Lei Court, lei contest, all-day hula and music, free workshops |
| Maui | Bailey House Heritage Festival | Hale Hōʻikeʻike museum exhibits, lei-making, contest, music |
| Kauaʻi | Kauaʻi Museum Lei Contest | 44th annual Irmalee and Walter Pomroy Lei Contest, smaller community focus |
| Hawaiʻi Island | Kalakaua Park Festival | 21st annual event with music, hula, lei-making demos, contest |
The question of authenticity hovers over these celebrations. Some critics note that Lei Day, with its court and contest structure, borrows from Western pageantry. Others argue that the holiday has been a vehicle for cultural preservation since its founding — a space where Hawaiian language, hula, and craft are practiced publicly at a time when they were suppressed elsewhere. Both positions have evidence. What is clear is that Lei Day has never been primarily a tourist event. It began as a local initiative, and its core participants remain Hawaiian and Hawaii-resident communities.
- The Aloha Spirit is codified in Hawaii law with five specific traits — kindness, unity, agreeableness, humility, patience — and lei-making materializes each of them.
- Lei Day (May 1) began in 1928 as a local proposal and remains community-driven, with distinct celebrations on each island.
- Lei techniques (kui, haku, wili) and materials vary by island and occasion, carrying specific geographic and cultural meaning.
- The lei economy has shifted toward imported flowers and paid concessions, but contemporary makers are preserving and adapting traditional techniques.
Questions Readers Ask
Is the Aloha Spirit really in Hawaii law?
Yes. Hawaii Revised Statutes § 5-7.5 defines the Aloha Spirit as “the coordination of mind and heart within each person” and lists five character traits that express it. The law says legislators and judges “may” give consideration to the Aloha Spirit — it is advisory, not mandatory.
What does each island’s lei flower mean?
The official flowers — like Oʻahu’s ʻilima or the Big Island’s lehua — tie a lei to a specific place. A lei made from Kauaʻi’s mokihana (a green berry with anise scent) carries the identity of that island. Niʻihau uses shells (pūpū) instead of flowers due to limited vegetation.
Can I take a lei off after someone gives it to me?
It is courteous to wear the lei while you are with the giver. If you need to remove it later, do so discreetly and never throw it in the trash. Hang it to dry, return it to the earth, or pass it to someone else. The gesture acknowledges the lei as a living thing, not disposable decoration.
Is Lei Day a tourist event or a local tradition?
Lei Day began in 1928 as a local initiative by Honolulu journalist Don Blanding and was never designed for tourists. The celebrations remain community-organized, with Hawaiian language, hula, and craft at the center. Visitors are welcome, but the event is not staged for them.
What is the difference between a lei and a flower crown?
A flower crown is typically a decorative headpiece with no specific cultural protocol. A lei, whether worn around the neck or head, carries Hawaiian cultural meaning — it is given freely, received with gratitude, and treated with care. The techniques (kui, haku, wili) and materials also follow distinct traditions.
The Circle That Holds the Spirit
The lei is a circle with no beginning and no end — a shape that recurs across Hawaiian symbolism, from the rainbow (ānuenue) to the cycle of life itself. That form is not accidental. It mirrors the Aloha Spirit’s insistence on mutual regard, on relationships that loop back rather than terminate. When you give a lei, you are not handing over an object. You are completing a circuit. The Aloha Spirit statute calls this “the essence of relationships in which each person is important to every other person for collective existence.” The lei makes that abstraction tangible, if only for the few hours the flowers last. For a deeper look at how Hawaiian culture transmits values through practice, read about Hawaiian storytelling and the power of oral tradition.
Sources and further reading
Beat of Hawaii. “The Lei Day Tradition That Hawaii Hasn’t Sold Yet.” 2026. 🔗
Hawaii Guide. “Lei Day 2026: Hawaii May Day Celebration Guide.” 2026. 🔗
Maui Vision. “Lei Day Hawaii 2026 Celebration Guide.” 2026. 🔗
Volokh, Eugene. “Is the Hawaii Supreme Court’s ‘Aloha Spirit’ Consistent with a Republican Form of Government?” Reason, 2026. 🔗
Related reading on IslandHopperGuides
The Spirit of Aloha: A Daily Guide to Living Hawaiian Values — Explores how the five traits of the Aloha Spirit show up in everyday practice beyond the lei.
Beyond Luaus: A Deep Dive into Authentic Hawaiian Celebrations — Context for Lei Day and other community-based celebrations across the islands.
Beyond the Lei: A Traveler’s Guide to Respecting Hawaiian Culture — Practical guidance on cultural etiquette, including lei protocol, for visitors.
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