2. The May flower is Lily of the Valley.
The scientific name for the plant is „majalis‟
which means „of belonging to May,‟ while the
Latin words „maius‟ (May) and „anthemon‟
(flower), a reference to when this plant
blooms, is how it was named.
The flower is also called May lily, May bells and
„muguet‟ in French. Bulgarians know it as
„momina selza‟, which translates to „lass‟s
tears.‟
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3. Lily of the Valley
The flower name appears in some translations
of The Bible and is also considered a symbol of
humility and the sign of Christ‟s second
coming. The Lily of the Valley is also believed
to give men the power to envision an
improved world.
Also known as Our Lady‟s Tears or Mary‟s
Tears from Christian legend. It was believed
that these names resulted from the Virgin
Mary‟s weeping during Jesus‟ crucifixion.
Another legend says they resulted from tears
from Eve after Adam pushed her out of the
Garden of Eden.
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4. About Lily of the Valley
This low growing perennial plant has small
fragrant bell-shaped flowers and two large
oblong lanceolate leaves and bloom in white
and is very poisonous.
An odd legend of sorts when you consider all
parts of the Lily of the Valley plant are
poisonous.
The flower has been used medicinally as it was
believed to improve memory and restore
speech. It was also said to bring common
sense but in order for that to happen, the
flower needed to be cooked down into a paste
and applied to the forehead and back of the
neck.
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5. In France
Saint Leonard, a brave and fearless soldier, chose
to live the life of a hermit in order to spend his days
communing with God.
The legend says these woods were also where a
dragon named Temptation lived. The two had an
encounter where the fire-breathing dragon
demanded Saint Leonard leave the woods and
ended up burning down his hut. Battles ensued and
eventually Saint Leonard drove the dragon deeper
into the woods until it disappeared.
A lot of blood was spilled in these battles and the
legend says poisonous plants grew where the
dragon‟s blood sprinkled the ground and Lilies of
the Valley popped out of the ground wherever Saint
Leonard‟s blood was spilled.
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6. Lily of the Valley Symbolize
The German virgin goddess Ostara is associated
with the flower and symbolized life to Pagans.
The symbolism of humility and pureness is said to
be represented in the flower‟s white colour and
sweet fragrance.
The flower also represents the return of happiness
and folklore points to the fondness of a lily of the
valley for a bird that returned to the woods in May,
when the flower bloomed.
Recent traditions include selling the flower on
international Labour Day (May 1) in France as a
symbol of spring.
Lily of the Valley also symbolizes sweetness and
“You‟ve Made My Life Complete” is the hidden
message connected to the flower.
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7. In Finland
Finland adopted Lily of the Valley as their
official national flower in 1967.
In Yugoslavian
The Yugoslavian floral emblem.
In Norwegian municipality of Lunner
Appears in the coat-of-arms of the Norwegian
municipality of Lunner.
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