May Day traditions go back to the dawn of time. In the ancient world, it was the date when sailors went back to sea. It was the beginning of the third quarter of the Celtic year.In the middle ages, May was the month when betrothals were made.

As Labour Day, it has been a public holiday in France since 1889.

In each case it has been an opportunity for merrymaking.

Lily-of-the-valley (Convallaria majalis L., liliaceae family) is found wild as a woodland plant throughout Europe. 

It was not used as a garden plant until the sixteenth century.

Lily-of-the-valley has been associated with French May Day celebrations and regarded as bringing good luck since the renaissance. 

But its use specifically as the May Day flower was confirmed at the beginning of the 20th century by two events.

On May Day 1895, Mayol, the cabaret singer, was greeted by his girlfriend Jenny Cook with some lily-of-the-valley and that evening he wore lily-of-the-valley in his buttonhole instead of the more usual Camellia.

By 1976, lily-of-the-valley was completely associated with May Day and every year tens of millions of sprigs of both wild and cultivated lily-of-the-valley are sold on this day.

The gathering of wild lily-of-the-valley depends on the weather and varies considerably from one year to another.