May Day - Brocante and Mugettes in Sablet
.......What are Mugettes?
I'll give you a clue......
The (new) Duchess of Cambridge (Kate Middleton), carried a bouquet of Mugettes
when she married Prince William last Friday morning........
Yes ...... Lilly of the Valley!
But that doesn't mean that the French have become huge fans of the Royal newlyweds,
and designated the May 1st as a time to exchange Lilly of the Valley.
(Although they very well be??)
Mugettes have a long history in France as a sign of camaraderie and good luck.
On May 1st 1561, King Charles IX of France received a Lilly of the Valley as a lucky charm. It must have worked well for him, since he decided to begin his own tradition of offering all the ladies of the Royal Court a sprig of the delicate, and
beautifully fragrant flowers each year, on that date.
By the beginning of the 20th Century, it had become customary throughout France
as a way to celebrate the coming of a new Spring and friendship.
My first experience of May 1st Mugettes was while
we were renovating Masion des Pelerins -
I had the "very difficult chore" of going to Sablet for the finishing touches...
(sooooo tough!).
On the way, I stopped in Paris to visit the family of a young gentleman,
who had worked for my company, as an intern for a year while
he was studying in California. I had met his parents when they visited for their son's
graduation. They were a delightful family, who owned and operated a beautiful Florist store in the suburbs of Paris.
Our intern had met beautiful Californian girl during his studies here
- who went back to Paris with him and they married there. Such a lovely couple.
They picked me up at the hotel and on they way to dinner, they wanted to show me the Store. That was the first time I heard about the very charming idea of exchanging Mugettes on May 1st. It was mid April and the store was stocked full of Mugettes. When I asked if these were for an upcoming wedding - they said, "no ... it for the 1st of May, and of course you know that on the 1st of May, friends exchange Mugettes."
They presented me with a very pretty pot of Mugettes
that traveled with me on the TGV down to Sablet when I left two days later.
When I arrived at Maison des Pelerins I made sure
that the pot of Mugettes had a place of honor on the kitchen window sill.
There was another first that year. As the time (and work) in Sablet progressed,
I had the best time getting to know our village and the commercants
- who do such a great job for all of us.
May 1st was a glorious day - sunny and warm.
I decided that this was a day to be spent out in the Courtyard ... gardening.
I had not read all the "affiches" around the village advertising the Brocante that day,
so I was really surprised when I went down to visit Madame Bonnet the Florist.
The Village was alive with people.
Antiques merchants had set up their stalls and Sablet's population had turned out in force along with lots of visitors from many surrounding villages.
I couldn't help but walk around and around looking for all of the things I couldn't live without. (Any kind of market has that effect on me).
I saw wonderful sets of silverware complete with fish knives (hadn't seen those since I was little - my parents had some) - I seriously thought of buying them (just nostalgic), .....but thought again.
Then the china platters .... dangerous ..... yes, I found one I couldn't live without ....
and it works with my grandmother's china, which she very kindly left me.
Satisfied, I started to head back to Maison .... plants and new (old) china platter.... that was when I noticed that not only the florist (I expected that),
but the Epicerie and a couple of other stores had pots and pots of Mugettes!
I then learned that the May 1st Brocante, as well as the Mugettes
is an annual event in Sablet ....
so for me, May 1st is Brocante and Mugettes Day .......
........and wasn't it lovely, and so timely that (the former) Kate Middleton
chose to carry a beautiful bouquet of Mugettes on her wedding day?
Posted by Marianne at 5/1/2011 7:09 PM 
Categories: provence, Village of Sablet, Provencal Villages, Markets of Provence, Antiques, Leisure, Sablet, garage sale, Sablet House, Vacation, village in provence, Europe, France, Sablet Village Provence Travel, Sablet village, travel, brocante, Sablet Home
Tags: May Day Mugettes Lily of the Valley Antiques Village Square
Categories: provence, Village of Sablet, Provencal Villages, Markets of Provence, Antiques, Leisure, Sablet, garage sale, Sablet House, Vacation, village in provence, Europe, France, Sablet Village Provence Travel, Sablet village, travel, brocante, Sablet Home
Tags: May Day Mugettes Lily of the Valley Antiques Village Square
The mugettes are beautiful, certainly fit for royalty! Kate Middleton represents them well..
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I couldn't agree more ....
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