The legend and origin of the violet, taking you through its story
The violet is native to southern Europe and the Mediterranean coast. Its blooms are abundant, its colors vivid, its fragrance rich, its flowering period long, and its inflorescences long as well. It is loved by many flower enthusiasts and is one of Europe's famous flowers. There is a beautiful legend about the violet, so let's take a look together below!
The flower language of the violet
1. Violet flower language: eternal beauty and love; simplicity, virtue, the coolness of midsummer.
2. Blue violet: vigilance, loyalty, I will be forever loyal.
3. White violet: let us seize the opportunity for happiness.
4. Purple violet: falling in love with you in a dream, to me you are forever so beautiful.
The legend of the violet
According to Greek mythology, Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, was reluctantly parting with her lover who was going on a long journey. Her sparkling teardrops fell onto the soil, and the following spring they unexpectedly sprouted and grew branches, blooming into beautiful, fragrant flowers one after another. These were the violets.
In ancient Greece, the violet was a symbol of abundance and fertility. Athens used it as a mark on its emblem and flag. The Romans also valued the violet highly, planting it among garlic and onions. The Cretans used them for skin care, soaking violet flowers in goat's milk and using it as a lotion. The Anglo-Saxons, however, regarded it as a savior against evil spirits.
The violet is native to southern Europe and is extremely popular and deeply loved in European and American countries. Its flowers have a faint, delicate fragrance, and Europeans use it to make perfume, which is highly favored by women. In the Middle Ages in southern Germany, there was also a custom of hanging the first freshly picked bunch of violets of the year high on the ship's mast to celebrate the return of spring to the world.
In the 19th century, people used hot compresses of violet leaves on the sites of malignant tumors to relieve pain. In more recent times, violets made into sweets were used for chest-related problems. The perfume industry uses two kinds of violets - Parma and Victoria. Parma's scent is more popular, but the stronger Victoria variety gradually became fashionable in this century.
Napoleon and the violet
Napoleon had a special fondness for the violet. His followers used it as the emblem of the Bonapartist faction, believing it would bring success and happiness once again to this frustrated monarch.
On March 20, 1815, when the violets bloomed for the first time in southern France, Napoleon successfully escaped from the island of Elba and returned among his admirers. As they welcomed him, they kept shouting: "Welcome, Father of the Violet!" At this time, people held violets in their hands, wore violets in their hair, and all the shops, public buildings, and even every household were decorated with violets, hoping that this spring flower could bring them good fortune and let Napoleon dominate Europe once again.
Unfortunately, this joy did not last long. On June 22, Napoleon was forced to declare that he was giving up the throne and passing it to his young son, Napoleon II. However, this crown prince did not inherit his father's ambition and great enterprise. He did not accept the throne, but instead went to the court of his maternal grandfather——Emperor Francis I of Austria, to live a leisurely life free from worldly strife.
After Napoleon lost the throne, in the week before he was escorted to Saint Helena, he suddenly recalled his old feelings for Josephine and went for the last time to the Chateau de Malmaison to visit her grave, planting a clump of precious violets that bloomed all year round in front of the tomb.
After Napoleon's death, people found two things in the gold jewelry box he never let out of his possession: two withered violets and a lock of light chestnut hair. The latter was the first hair of his beloved son, while the former was the token of love between him and Josephine.