Each May, something quietly unusual begins to happen.
Not loud. Not trending in the way everything else does. But if you notice it, you can’t unsee it.
Mermaids start appearing everywhere. In sketches and paintings with soft, shimmering colours — some glittery and beautiful, others dark and mysterious. These images feel like they exist between memory and imagination. People who haven’t drawn in years start again. Others create daily, as if they’ve been waiting for this moment.
It’s called Mermay.
On the surface, it’s simple. It is a creative challenge where people create and celebrate mermaids throughout May.
But that’s not really what it is. Or what it has become.
Because Mermay isn’t just about mermaids.
It’s about something people don’t often say out loud.
Not everything we love as children is meant to be left behind.
What is Mermay?
Mermay is a month-long creative challenge held every May that encourages people to create and share mermaid-themed artwork.
It was started in 2016 by former Disney animator Tom Bancroft. The idea was simple. Draw a mermaid each day in May and share it using the hashtag #Mermay.
Since then, it has quietly grown into a global creative movement.
Today, Mermay is embraced by artists, hobbyists, storytellers, brands, and people who are simply drawn to the ocean.
Some follow structured prompt lists. Others create freely, dipping in and out throughout the month.
There are no strict rules.
Only an invitation.
And each year, I find myself drawn back to it.
Why has Mermay become so popular?
There are plenty of creative challenges online, but Mermay feels different.
It doesn’t ask for perfection.
It doesn’t demand consistency.
And it doesn’t require proving anything.
Instead, it offers something quieter.
A reason to begin again.
For some, it’s about improving their art.
For others, it’s about reconnecting with creativity.
And for many, it’s simply about participating in something that feels a little softer than everyday life.
Because mermaids don’t belong to logic.
They belong to folklore and the imagination.
The world of mermaiding (yes, it’s real)
What many people don’t realise is that mermaids don’t only exist in art and folklore.
There is also a real-world community built around mermaiding. This is the practice of wearing a mermaid tail and swimming in it.
For some, it’s a form of fitness.
For others, it’s performance or artistry.
And for many, it becomes something deeply personal.
Mermaiding has grown into a global subculture, with events, festivals, performers, underwater photography, and even careers built around becoming a mermaid.
But beyond all of that, it offers something that’s harder to explain.
A sense of calm.
A sense of freedom.
A feeling of being completely present.
Water has a way of softening everything.
For many people, becoming a mermaid, even just for a moment, feels a little like coming home.
I met a mermaid once, not in a story, but in real life. She was working with a children’s charity, bringing gentle, magical joy to a child who needed hope. What stayed with me wasn’t her costume, or even her performance. It was the way people softened around her, as if they had stepped into a different kind of world.
A little mermaid language (because of course there is)
Like any beautiful little world, mermaid culture has developed its own way of speaking.
You might come across words like mermazing, shello, seaster, fintastic, or shellabration.
Playful, unexpected, and a little whimsical.
These words are created by blending familiar terms into something new. For example, “mermazing” combines “mermaid” and “amazing.”
It may seem lighthearted, but it does something deeper.
It creates connection.
It turns something individual into something shared.
And suddenly, people from all over the world begin to feel like a community, even if they’ve never met.
Why do people love mermaids?
It’s a simple question, but not an easy one to answer.
People don’t usually love mermaids for one clear reason.
It’s not just that they’re beautiful, though they are often shown that way.
It’s not just the ocean. There is something undeniably calming about water, sunlight dancing on the surface, and the slower world beneath it.
It’s something quieter than that.
Mermaids seem to exist outside of everything that feels heavy in life.
They don’t rush.
They don’t strive.
They don’t live by the clock or by expectations.
They belong to a world where things simply are. Movement is gentle, sound is softer, and there is space to just be.
And in a world that often feels busy, loud, and demanding, that kind of existence feels incredibly comforting.
There’s also something deeply nostalgic about mermaids.
For many of us, they were part of childhood. Stories, films, daydreams, and a time when imagination was always there.
Even now, long after we’ve grown, that feeling lingers. It stays somewhere in the background, waiting.
So when we see a mermaid, whether it’s in a drawing, a story, or something we can hold, it doesn’t just feel beautiful.
It feels familiar.
Like remembering a version of ourselves that we haven’t quite let go of.
Why mermaids still feel so magical
Mermaids have existed in stories for centuries.
And yet, they’ve never really disappeared.
They represent something that doesn’t quite fit into everyday life.
Softness.
Mystery.
Beauty without explanation.
They exist in that space between imagination and memory, where things don’t need to make sense to feel important.
And even as adults, that feeling doesn’t fully disappear.
It just becomes quieter.
Until something like Mermay brings it back.
This is the feeling I try to capture in each mermaid I create. Not just something pretty to look at, but something for dreamers. Something that carries you, even briefly, to a more magical place.
If you’ve ever wondered why mermaid dolls are so often chosen as keepsakes rather than toys, you can read more about that here
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