Interesting facts, legends and works of art about the lily of the valley. Legends of the lily of the valley

Lily of the valley- this flower is found in many legends and fairy tales of different countries and different eras. Man could not ignore the beauty, purity and delicate whiteness of lily of the valley flowers, endowing him with the most sublime feelings - love and fidelity.
In Ancient Rus' The appearance of the lily of the valley was associated with the beautiful sea princess Magus. Her lover Sadko preferred the earthly girl Lyubava and rejected the love of the proud princess. Bitter tears falling to the ground turned into beautiful lily of the valley flowers, which became a symbol of sadness, unrequited love and sadness.
Christians They attributed the origin of the lily of the valley to the burning tears of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the cross on which her son was crucified.

In Ancient Rome It was believed that lily of the valley flowers were droplets of sweat running away from the passionate Faun, the goddess of the hunt, Diana.

In England They said that lilies of the valley grow in those places where the mighty hero Leonard fought with the terrible Dragon and defeated him. In some English fairy tales, lilies of the valley appeared from Snow White's beads scattered in a forest clearing. And now lily of the valley flowers serve as lanterns for gnomes, illuminating forest paths for them. Of course, the British could not help but mention the elves, for whom these flowers became their home. There is also a legend that the happy laughter of the fairy-tale Mavka, who felt her first love, turned into snow-white forest bells - lilies of the valley.

Celts They were sure that the lily of the valley symbolizes the treasures of the elves. Young hunters, hiding in ambush on a wild beast, suddenly saw a fairy-tale elf flying with a pearl to a mountain of pearls. The hunters followed his path and as soon as they took the tiny pearl, the mountain of treasures crumbled. Greedy people rushed to collect precious stones, but the elf king turned all the treasures into flowers.

In Ancient Germany Lilies of the valley were sacrificed to the goddess of spring and the rising sun, Ostara.

In France, Since the 17th century, young men in love have given a bouquet of lilies of the valley to their girlfriend. If she accepted it and pinned it to her dress or woven it into her hair, then the offer of love was accepted. If the lilies of the valley were thrown away, it means the groom was waiting for a refusal.
And finally, one cannot ignore another beautiful legend about a young man in love, whose name was Lily of the Valley. Spring endowed this young man with an extraordinary love of life. For this, Lily of the Valley always warmly thanked Spring with the most affectionate and warm words. For this, Spring fell in love with him, but not for long... Windy Spring, traveling around the world, did not find peace for herself, generously giving gifts and scattering her caresses. Her love for Lily of the Valley was just as fleeting. Soon she left and left Lily of the Valley, that spring flower of love, under the scorching rays of the summer sun. The young man cried and suffered for a long time about his beloved Spring. His tears turned into snow-white flowers, and the blood of a heart broken by unrequited love froze into scarlet berries.

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In early spring, under shady trees in the forest, on forest edges, in ravines, delicate, fragrant, graceful flowers - lilies of the valley - are scattered like pearls.

Lily of the valley flowers are always associated with purity, tenderness, fidelity, love, and the most sublime feelings. There are so many luxurious flowers, but it was the lily of the valley that the ancient Germans and Scandinavians considered the flower of the goddess of the rising sun. And how many legends and fairy tales are associated with it!

Many people remember the fairy tale about Snow White from childhood. When Snow White was fleeing from her evil stepmother, she accidentally scattered her necklace, which turned into fragrant flowers. They serve as lanterns for gnomes. Little forest people - elves - live in them. Sunbeams hide in lilies of the valley at night.

There are references to this in Roman mythology. How one day the goddess of the hunt Diana found herself in an unfamiliar forest where fauns lived. Seeing the proud beauty, they began to pursue her. The agile, slender goddess ran away from them. But she had to run too long and too quickly; her tanned, beautiful body became covered with droplets of fragrant sweat, which fell to the ground and turned into magical flowers.

An old Russian legend tells about the water princess Volkhov. Who passionately loved the beautiful Sadko. Having learned about his ardent love for Lyubava, in despair she went ashore to hear the songs of her beloved for the last time. But he was not on the shore. She wandered for a long time, listening, through the meadows, through the forest, along the edges. And then, among the slender birches, I noticed two silhouettes in the moonlight. He!!! And next to him, gently clinging to him, is Lyubava.
The proud beauty Volkhova barely restrained the cry of despair bursting from her chest. Turned away. Exhausted by grief, she left to forever plunge into the cold watery kingdom, to hide her unbearable melancholy from the whole world. And only the moon in the sky witnessed her tears, rolling like a hail from her sea-blue eyes, and falling like pearls between the silk grasses. Tears turned into fragrant lilies of the valley - evidence of the love and pain of a tender, hot girl’s heart.

From another legend we learn that lilies of the valley are Mavka’s happy laughter, scattered like pearls throughout the forest. When she first felt the joy of love.

And here is another legend about the lily of the valley. Once upon a time, a long time ago, Lily of the Valley fell in love with the beautiful Spring, who scattered her caresses to everyone. And when the lily of the valley fades, a small round berry grows - combustible, fiery tears with which the lily of the valley mourns the spring that abandoned it. The lily of the valley in love silently endured his grief, just as he carried the joy of love.

There are many beautiful legends and stories associated with the lily of the valley. According to one of them, the lily of the valley appeared from the tears of the Virgin Mary, which she shed at the cross on which her Son was crucified.

Irina Vyacheslavovna Mozzhelina

Silver lilies of the valley

Oh first lily of the valley! From under the snow

You ask for the sun's rays;

What virginal bliss

In your fragrant purity!

There are quite a few legends about the origin of lily of the valley. Old Russian legend connects the appearance lily of the valley with the sea princess Magus. The tears of the princess, saddened by the fact that the young man Sadko gave his heart to the earthly girl Lyubava, fell to the ground and sprouted into a beautiful and delicate flower - a symbol of purity, love and sadness.

There is a belief that on bright moonlit nights, when the whole earth is in deep sleep, the Blessed Virgin, surrounded by a crown of silver lilies of the valley, sometimes appears to those lucky mortals for whom unexpected joy is in store. When lily of the valley fades, a small round berry grows - flammable, fiery tears, with which lily of the valley mourns spring, a around-the-world traveler, scattering her affections to everyone and not stopping anywhere. Enamored lily of the valley He also silently endured his grief, just as he carried the joy of love. In connection with this pagan legend, a Christian legend about the origin of lily of the valley from the burning tears of the Most Holy Theotokos at the cross of her crucified son.

The ancient Romans believed that lily of the valley- these are droplets of fragrant sweat from the goddess of the hunt Diana, falling on the grass when she ran away from the Faun who was in love with her. In England they said that lilies of the valley grow in the forest in the places where the fairy-tale hero Leonard defeated the terrible dragon. In others legends say, What lilies of the valley grew from the beads of Snow White's scattered necklace. They serve as lanterns for gnomes. Little forest people - elves - live in them. IN lilies of the valley sunbeams hide at night. From another let's learn about the legends, What lilies of the valley- this is Mavka’s happy laughter, scattered like pearls throughout the forest when she first felt the joy of love.

The Celts believed that this was nothing more or less than the treasure of the elves. According to them legend, young hunters, having ambushed wild animals in the thicket of the forest, saw an elf flying with a heavy burden in his hands, and tracked his path. It turned out that he was carrying a pearl to a mountain of pearls that rose under an old spreading tree. Unable to resist the temptation, one of the hunters decided to take a tiny pearl ball for himself, but when he touched it, the mountain of treasures crumbled. People rushed to collect pearls, forgetting about precautions, and at the sound of their fuss, an elven king flew in, turning all the pearls into fragrant white flowers. And since then, the elves have been taking revenge on greedy people for the loss of their treasure, and lilies of the valley love so much that every time they rub them with napkins woven from moonlight.

Not only legends, legends, poems were dedicated to the charming flower, holidays and celebrations were organized in its honor. From time immemorial lily of the valley associated with purity, tenderness, fidelity, love and the most sublime feelings. From lilies of the valley made wedding bouquets for young brides, symbolizing youth and purity.

In ancient times in Germany lilies of the valley They brought it as a gift to the goddess of the rising sun, radiant dawn and spring, Ostara. And when holidays were held in honor of this goddess, everything around was decorated lilies of the valley. Guys and girls gathered on the outskirts, lit fires and danced until the flowers in their hands withered. Then they threw the withered flowers into the fire, sacrificing them to the goddess.

Since the 17th century, the holiday has been celebrated on the eve of May Sunday French lilies of the valley. Lilies of the valley considered a symbol of love. If a girl pins a flower, given by a boy, to her hair or dress, it means that she agrees to get married; if she throws it on the ground, it means that his proposal is not accepted.

After flowering lilies of the valley In place of the fallen petals, a large red berry appears. And there is about her too legend. Spring endowed a young man named Lily of the valley with love for life, and he always thanked her with warm, affectionate words. Spring fell in love lily of the valley, but not for long. Traveling all her life from south to north, she finds no peace for herself and, scattering affection to everyone, does not stay long with anyone. In passing she caressed and Lily of the valley. However, she soon left and left the spring flower for the hot summer. young man Lily of the valley he cried so much about his beloved Spring, who had left him, that the tears turned into white flowers, and the blood of his heart colored the berries.

The generic name was given by Linnaeus in Latin - Lilium convallium, which means lily of the valleys. English title - Lily of the Valley (or Lily-of-the-Valley)- repeats the Roman meaning. Other Russians titles: lilies of the valley, shirt, youthful, youthful, culprit. In 1967 lily of the valley became the national flower of Finland. Stylized images lily of the valley placed on the fields of the coats of arms of the cities of Weilar (Germany, Lunner (Norway) and Mellerud (Sweden)

Dolin - this is exactly what the Latin name for lily of the valley sounds like when translated into Russian. The origin of the Russian name is unclear. There are several opinions. According to one, this is a transformation from the word “smooth”, received by the plant for the silkiness and smoothness of the leaves. According to another opinion, the name comes from the word “incense”, for the pleasant smell of flowers. People gave the lily of the valley many names: forest bell, May lily, gladysh, doe's ear; young, Mary's bells, snow droplets, and that's not all.

Lily of the valley is a symbol of spring, purity, love and sadness. There are many legends about him among different nations, and almost all of them contain the motif of tears. The young man Lily of the Valley fell in love with Spring. All her life, traveling from south to north, she casually caressed the young man in love with her, but soon moved on. The lily of the valley mourned the past spring so bitterly that blood gushed from its “heart” and colored the initially green fruits red.

In connection with these pagan legends, perhaps, a Christian legend arose about the origin of the lily of the valley from the burning tears of the Most Holy Theotokos, which she shed while standing at the cross of the crucified Son.

In Ukraine, there are several legends about the origin of lily of the valley. One is that he grew up in the place where the tears of a girl fell while she was waiting for her betrothed from a long journey, the other considers lily of the valley flowers to be rolling pearls into which the happy laughter of the forest mermaid Mavka turned when she first learned the joy of love. Even in Ukraine they say that the wonderful aroma of lilies of the valley lures the nightingale out of the nest and leads him to the bride.

Lilies of the valley are not included in the set of twelve flowers of the traditional Ukrainian wreath. But ethnographers know more than seventy types of them, and these delicate flowers, personifying girlish purity and modesty, were always woven into wedding wreaths.

There used to be a beautiful custom: when inviting a girl to dance, the guy gave her a bouquet of lilies of the valley. The exchange of bouquets even meant consent to marriage. If the girl did not agree, she threw the bouquet on the ground. They believed that lily of the valley flowers, picked on the morning of the full moon, evoke sublime romantic love. If lilies of the valley are pinned to the bride’s hair and to the groom’s jacket at a wedding, then their marriage will withstand any tests and their married life will last for many years. It was believed that a man becomes more tender and careful, and a woman becomes more passionate, if there is a bouquet of lilies of the valley, collected during the waxing moon, at the head of the bed. To make their cheeks rosy, girls rubbed them with lily of the valley flowers.

Lily of the valley has a feature that, unfortunately, many do not know about: its first flowering in nature occurs no earlier than the seventh year of the plant’s life, and by the age of 10-12 they completely lose the ability to bloom. The maximum lifespan of lily of the valley is 21 years. Peduncles appear at intervals of two to three years. This explains the fact that in forest thickets of lily of the valley there are often many leaves and so few flowers. Forest lily of the valley is listed in the Red Book.

According to ancient legends, the delicate flowers of the lily of the valley are the tears of a girl who is waiting for her beloved from a long journey, these are the miniature lanterns of forest gnomes, these are the pearls of the silver happy laughter of the Mermaid. Many peoples respect this plant as a symbol of spring. In Irish myths, lily of the valley flowers are believed to serve as steps on a staircase for fairies. The fairies climb up the baskets of bells to the reeds, collect them and weave cradles. The English tell their story about lilies of the valley, in which this flower, listening to the songs of a nightingale, fell in love with this bird. And, embarrassed to show his feelings, he began to hide in the tall grass to enjoy the nightingale’s song from a hiding place. And when the nightingale, inspired by the delicate enchanting aroma of the flower, felt that he was left alone, he said that he had no one else to sing for and flew away. Since then, there has been a belief that nightingales begin to sing when they smell the aroma of May lily of the valley in the air, or when these fragrant flowers bloom in plain sight.

In France (and according to other sources in England) there is a beautiful legend surrounding the lily of the valley with a mysterious shroud. A saint named Leonard, a close friend of King Holdwig, who lived in the 6th century, loved nature and the world created by God so much that one day he decided to become a hermit. Leonard wished to retire to live among flowers and birds, to dissolve with nature. After long wanderings and wanderings through fields and forests, Leonard finally found a forest clearing to live in. He was left alone with his thoughts and wanted to rest, not knowing that he was being closely watched by a dragon named Temptation. At the moment when Saint Leonard began to pray, a dragon addressed him and ordered him to leave this place. But the saint was so carried away by prayer that he did not notice the presence of danger. Then the dragon burned him with a flint smoking from its mouth, and Leonard entered into battle with him. The battle was not a joke, and in the end Saint Leonard defeated the dragon. But every time he wounded the dragon, weeds appeared from the dragon's blood falling to the ground. And when he was wounded by the dragon’s claws, lilies of the valley appeared on the ground from drops of Leonard’s blood.

In France, every year on May 1st, the May Lily of the Valley festival is held. The French have a tradition on this day that is believed to date back to the reign of Charles IX in 1561. They say that on this day the king was presented with a small bouquet of lily of the valley branches with wishes of good luck and revival of hopes. The king was incredibly pleased with the gift and ordered several more bouquets for all the court ladies. Since then, the tradition has grown into a national holiday, where people honor each other by exchanging sprigs of lilies of the valley. Lilies of the valley decorate homes and clothing. During the dance, young people exchange bouquets of lilies of the valley; if a girl pins a flower given by a young man to her hair or dress, this means that she agrees to get married; if she throws it on the ground, it means that his proposal is not accepted.

Another legend tells that lilies of the valley grew from the tearful princess Volkhova, who passionately fell in love with the brave Sadko. Having learned about his betrayal, about Sadko’s ardent love for Lyubava, Volkhova went ashore to listen to the wonderful songs of her beloved for the last time. But in vain she looked for him on the shore; Volkhova wandered for a long time through meadows, swamps and forests, listening to the sounds of the night. And then, among the slender birches, she noticed two silhouettes in the moonlight. Sadko and Lyubava. The proud beauty restrained her heartfelt cry, turned away and, heartbroken, went to hide forever in her cold kingdom. And only a month saw how tears rolled from her beautiful blue eyes like pearls and fell into the silk grass, turning into white lilies of the valley - the beauty of love and the pain of a pure, tender, hot, girlish heart.

There is a belief that on bright moonlit nights, when the whole earth is in deep sleep, the Blessed Virgin, surrounded by a crown of silver lilies of the valley, sometimes appears to those lucky mortals for whom she is preparing unexpected joy. When the lily of the valley fades, a small round berry grows - combustible, fiery tears with which the lily of the valley mourns spring, a traveler around the world, scattering her caresses to everyone and not stopping anywhere. The lily of the valley in love also silently endured his grief, just as he carried the joy of love. In connection with this pagan legend, a Christian legend may have arisen about the origin of the lily of the valley from the burning tears of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the cross of her crucified son.

The ancient Romans believed that the lily of the valley was droplets of the fragrant sweat of the goddess of the hunt Diana, falling on the grass when she ran away from the Faun who was in love with her. There are references that lilies of the valley belong to the cult of the goddess of spring named Maya, the daughter of the mythical god Atlas. Other legends say that lilies of the valley grew from the beads of Snow White’s scattered necklace. They serve as lanterns for gnomes. Little forest people - elves - live in them. Sunbeams hide in lilies of the valley at night. From another legend we learn that lilies of the valley are Mavka’s happy laughter, scattered like pearls throughout the forest when she first felt the joy of love. The Celts believed that this was nothing more or less than the treasure of the elves. According to their legend, young hunters, having ambushed wild animals in the thicket of the forest, saw an elf flying with a heavy burden in his hands, and tracked his path. It turned out that he was carrying a pearl to a mountain of pearls that rose under an old spreading tree. Unable to resist the temptation, one of the hunters decided to take a tiny pearl ball for himself, but when he touched it, the mountain of treasures crumbled. People rushed to collect pearls, forgetting about precautions, and at the sound of their fuss, an elven king flew in, turning all the pearls into fragrant white flowers. And since then, elves have taken revenge on greedy people for the loss of their treasure, and they love lilies of the valley so much that every time they rub them with napkins woven from moonlight.

Not only legends, tales, and poems were dedicated to the charming flower, holidays and festivities were organized in its honor. From time immemorial, lily of the valley has been associated with purity, tenderness, fidelity, love and the most sublime feelings. Lilies of the valley were used to make wedding bouquets for young brides, symbolizing youth and purity. In ancient times in Germany, lilies of the valley were brought as a gift to the goddess of the rising sun, radiant dawn and spring, Ostara. And when holidays were held in honor of this goddess, everything around was decorated with lilies of the valley. Guys and girls gathered on the outskirts, lit fires and danced until the flowers in their hands withered. Then they threw the withered flowers into the fire, sacrificing them to the goddess.

After the lilies of the valley bloom, a large red berry appears in place of the fallen petals. And there is a legend about her too. Spring endowed a young man named Lily of the Valley with a love of life, and he always thanked her with warm, affectionate words. Spring fell in love with Lily of the Valley, but not for long. Traveling all her life from south to north, she finds no peace for herself and, scattering affection to everyone, does not stay long with anyone. In passing, she also caressed Lily of the Valley. However, she soon left and left the spring flower for the hot summer. The young man Lily of the Valley cried so much about his beloved Spring who had left him that his tears turned into white flowers, and the blood of his heart colored the berries. According to another legend, the lily of the valley mourned the quickly passed spring so bitterly that blood came out of the “heart” and tinted the green tears red. Lily of the valley berries are poisonous. In Finland, the lily of the valley is the national symbol flower. And in Holland there is a belief that newlyweds should plant lilies of the valley in their garden so that their love does not fade away from year to year, but, on the contrary, is reborn anew with each coming of spring.