In France, May 1st is a national holiday – it’s their ‘Labor Day’. One of the ways the French celebrate this holiday is by offering a small bouquet of lily of the valley (“muguet-du-bois”, in French) to love ones and to friends, to symbolise ‘good luck’ and ‘love’. That is why May 1st, i.e., ‘May Day’ is also known as, “La Fête du Muguet”.
The lily of the valley have been considered a “porte-bonheur” (French for, ‘lucky charm’) since the Middle Ages when it was first brought to Europe from Japan.
In France, one can buy lily of the valley almost everywhere the week preceding May 1st; anyone is allowed to set up a stand and sell lily of the valley as cut flowers or as potted plants on May 1st.
The celebration of “May Day”, according to the French tradition, began on May 1st in 1561 when King Charles the 9th of France was given a bunch of lily of the valley to bring him luck and success for the next year. Tradition has it that the King liked the idea and began offering lily of the valley to the “courtisanes” (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 were 100 million euros in the French economy.
In Europe, lily of the valley are often used in weddings: Catherine Middleton used lily of the valley in her bridal bouquet when she married Prince William (current heir to the British thrown). Lily of the valley were amongst the flowers chosen by Princes Grace when she married Prince Rainer of Monaco.
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