But where does this strange tradition of offering lily of the valley on May 1st come from?
Obviously, if we treat ourselves to sprigs of lily of the valley at the beginning of May, it is first and foremost a question of flowering. It wouldn’t really make sense to treat yourself to one in the middle of December. But May 1 is not a date chosen at random.
Can an individual sell lily of the valley on May 1?
Indeed, according to certain legends, the tradition dates back to May 1, 1560. On that day, King Charles IX received a sprig of lily of the valley from the knight Louis de Girard de Maisonforte during his visit to the Dauphiné. Very touched by this gesture, he decreed that the ladies should also receive them, every year.
However, lily of the valley was replaced by red wild rose after the Revolution to celebrate May 1, in order to dissociate itself from this royal tradition. Moreover, during the first International Workers’ Day in the late 1890s, demonstrators proudly wore red rose hips on their clothing.
Finally, under the Vichy regime, it was decided to replace the red wild rose, which represented too much communism, and to return to the tradition of lily of the valley, becoming the symbol of Labor Day.
