Everyone knows that when you arrive at a luau or other Hawaiian event you will often get to receive and wear the Lei. Leis are wreaths or necklaces of woven flowers given to guests and family and friends as a symbol of affection and welcome. Tourists arriving in Hawaii will be given Leis and they will get Leis as they leave for home as well.

Most contemporary Leis are manufactured of plastic and cloth flowers and people all over the world love to make use of them at their own Luau and Hawaiian style events. In places like the Hawaiian Islands and at more expensive Hawaiian themed parties you can still find the traditional Leis woven with real tropical flowers. Most often the flowers are yellow and pink Plumeria, Lehua Blossoms or the delicate Orchid. All are very fragrant and beautiful. Plumeria is also referred to as Frangipani.

A more traditional Lei is the Maille Leaf Lei. This Lei is woven of the large green leaves of the Maille. This Lei is also very fragrant. It’s the Lei associated with the god of Hula and as such you will often see Hula Dancers wearing the green leafy Leis.

There are several ways to bind the flowers together in a Lei. You can very simply string the flowers together using a strong needle and string of some sort of fibrous material. In stringing you can string the flowers through the center of each of the flowers, or through the thick base of the flowers or through the stem of the flower. Its also possible, but requires more skill to weave the flowers together by braiding or twisting the stems together and introducing new flowers as you go. This braiding method may also be used by braiding the flower stems with a central cord to stabilize and hold the entire lei together. Some prefer to simply knot flower stems to one another.