Latest Roundup of Lily of the Valley Flower Meanings and Legends
Lily of the valley is also known as grass jade bell, Junying grass, perfume flower, small reed bell, grass inch fragrance, reed pear flower, and so on. It is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Convallaria in the family Liliaceae, native to the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere. Its flowers are bell-shaped, and the fallen flowers dancing in the wind look like snow, so the meadows of lily of the valley are also called by people “silvery white heaven”. Now let us take a look together at the flower meanings and legends of lily of the valley!
Flower Meaning of Lily of the Valley
Return of Happiness. Lily of the valley is, in the legends of the ancient Nordic people, the flower of the goddess of sunrise. It is a fresh flower used as an offering to the goddess of sunrise, and it is also the sacred flower of the North American Indians. The romantic French people even have a special “Lily of the Valley Day”. On “Lily of the Valley Day” in May, French people give each other small lily of the valley flowers, symbolizing the arrival of happiness and good fortune. The recipient usually hangs the flowers in a room to keep for the whole year, symbolizing that happiness stays forever.
Lily of the Valley Legend One
Legend says that Adam and Eve believed the lies of the great serpent and stole and ate the forbidden fruit. Saint Leonard, the guardian saint of the forest, swore to kill the great serpent. In the struggle between Leonard and the great serpent, he finally, utterly exhausted, perished together with the great serpent. From the land after his death grew the fragrant lily of the valley with small white flowers shaped like little bells. The lily of the valley that grew from that cold land is the embodiment of Saint Leonard, condensing his blood and spirit. According to this legend, if you give lily of the valley flowers to relatives and friends, the god of happiness will descend upon the recipient.
Lily of the Valley Legend Two
Ukraine has a beautiful legend. It is said that long ago there was a beautiful girl who waited with infatuation for her lover who had gone on a distant expedition. The tears of longing fell on the grass in the forest and turned into the richly fragrant lily of the valley. Some also say that those were pearls scattered from Snow White's broken pearl necklace, and some say that they were the little lanterns of the 7 dwarfs. There is also a legend that a youth named “Landysh” (the sound of lily of the valley in Russian) was heartbroken because his lover “Vesna“ (meaning spring in Russian) left him. The youth's tears turned into white flowers, and the blood flowing from the youth's broken heart turned into the red berries of lily of the valley.