Lily of the valley: a French May 1st tradition

A collage of vendors selling lily of the valley flowers, May 1, 2024 at Porte d'Orléans and near the Alésia metro station. Shoppers were out bright and early to celebrate this May Day tradition in the beautiful city of Paris in La Belle France.

In France, May 1st is a national holiday – it is “Labor Day”. One of the ways the French celebrate this holiday is to offer a small bouquet of lily of the valley (“muguet-du-bois”, in French) to their loved ones and friends, to symbolize “good luck” and “love”. .

This is why May 1, i.e. “May 1,” is also known as “The Lily of the Valley Festival.”

Lily of the valley has been considered a “good luck charm” since the Middle Ages, when it was first introduced to Europe from Japan.

In France, you can buy lily of the valley almost everywhere the week before May 1st; on May 1, anyone is authorized to set up a stand and sell lily of the valley in cut flowers or potted plants.

The celebration of “May 1,” according to French tradition, began on May 1, 1561 when King Charles 9 of France received a bouquet of lily of the valley to bring him luck and success for the following year. Tradition has it that the king liked the idea and began offering lily of the valley to “courtesans” (i.e. the “ladies” and “ladies in waiting” of the king’s court).

Last year, it was estimated that the sale of lily of the valley represented 100 million euros in the French economy.

Photo source: Internet