In Paris on the first day of May one finds women on almost every street corner selling small bouquets of Lilly of the Valley. May 1 is La Fête du Muguet ( Lilly of the Valley) as well as the traditional Fête du Travail (Labor Day). The tradition is to give friends & loved ones the flowers for good luck and to celebrate the arrival of spring. Originally the idea was to go into the forest with the children to pick your own muguet as an outing & a rite of spring. But now one sees the women with their buckets of neatly tied bouquets on the street corners of Paris & else where in France. The little drawing above is from one of my Paris sketch books, the first time I encountered this charming custom. I was so enchanted by it.
One of the blogs that I follow is Chemin des Muguets . I was immediately drawn to it for the name alone but have since found much to admire. Today there is a wonderful post on this subject. Check it out & Bonne Fête du Muguet.
Nice story. I love that. We use to have those growing in my yard when I was kid back in Detroit, Michigan. they smell so sweet. Intoxicating. I am going in search of some even if just fir a whiff or two, ahhhhhhhh.
ReplyDeleteYes, le muguet... I always associate it with my (French) son because it's his birthday today (30).
ReplyDeleteMarjorie's blog is wonderful - always interesting and well written.
how wonderful to be in Boston- one of my favorite cities-- AND Paris- a city I hope to visit some day- you are very lucky. You have a wonderful blog here.
ReplyDeleteHi Sally, so lovely to meet you and to have a glimpse into your world! That rose is so incredible, I hope you do get to see it soon. And I love Lily of the Valley too.
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