May 1: a holiday and happy for 98 years

The 1st of May is a public holiday in France since 1919, and officially, it is in honor of the work and the workers. An idea of ​​the Senate of the time which at the same time ratified the working day of 8h.
May 1st is also the festival of the lily of the valley. And although there are no direct links between the bells and the workers, for years now everyone has offered himself this little flower, a sign of happiness and work.

It s offer thrush since the Middle Ages

It was King Charles IX who began the tradition. On May 1, 1560, he was offered a sprig of lily of the valley as a lucky charm, and later decided to make it a custom. And every May 1, he offered a bit of lily of the valley to all the ladies of the course. Charles IX was a little the Pharrell Williams of the sixteenth century.

A sprig of thrush, 13 bells and happiness

Traditionally, anyone who finds a lily of the valley with 13 small bells will be lucky. In the Middle Ages, we offered a touch of thrush on the occasion of the thirteenth year of marriage, and apparently it brought happiness ... We understand better why we talk about marriages of lily of the valley for the 13 years of marriage of a couple.

66 million French people have the right to sell lily of the valley on 1 May 2015

It is impossible to leave the house on this holiday without seeing street vendors of improvised lily of the valley. There are a few conditions:
- Standing more than 40m from a professional florist or a retailer
- Sell only thrush that we picked by ourselves in the woods
- Follow the regulations of the mayor of the commune where one improves seller of thrush. For example, in Paris, one has the right to sell lily of the valley, strictly of the lily of the valley, without pot or other flowers.