May 1 st / 1 er mai

I wish you everyone a beautiful day ♥

Thanks to read about Lily of the Valley at the end of this article

Un joyeux premier Mai à tous ♥

Merci de lire les infos liées au muguet à la fin de cet article .


May Day occurs on May 1 and refers to several public holidays.

In many countries, May Day is synonymous with International Workers' Day, or Labour Day, a day of political demonstrations and celebrations organised by the unions, anarchists, and socialist groups.

May Day is also a traditional holiday in many cultures.


Traditional May Day celebrations:

May Day is related to the Celtic festival of Beltane and the Germanic festival of Walpurgis Night.

May Day falls exactly half of a year from November 1, another cross-quarter day which is also associated with various northern European pagan and neopagan festivals such as Samhain. May Day marks the end of the uncomfortable winter half of the year in the Northern hemisphere, and it has traditionally been an occasion for popular and often raucous celebrations.

As Europe became Christianized the pagan holidays lost their religious character and either changed into popular secular celebrations, as with May Day, or were merged with or replaced by new Christian holidays as with Christmas, Easter, and All Saint's Day.
In the twentieth century, many neopagans began reconstructing the old traditions and celebrating May Day as a pagan religious festival again.

*** Origins:

In 1884, in America Federation of Organised Trades and Labor Unions passed a resolution in their meeting that all legal ways to for their demand to reduce the working hours from 16 to 8 have failed.

Therefore they decided to go on strike.

Movement gained momentum and on 1st May 1886, strike call was given. Center of this movement was Chicago. To foil the strike additional police was hired,money for which was given by the Industrialists, For two days the strike remained peaceful. On 3rd May, in McCORMIC factory police resorted to unprovoked firing upon unarmed and peaceful demonstration. Resultantly, four labors died and several other injured. Next day on May 4th, the organizers announced a big rally against the criminal action of police at market squire. Gathering was peaceful. When the last leader was delivering his speech,the police started firing on labors. Several labors died and hundred injured. Police made an excuse that someone from the gathering hurled a grenade, which resulted in death of one police man. A fake case was registered against labor leaders and 8 leaders were awarded death sentence. Albert Parson, August Spize, Adolf Fischer and George Angel were hanged on November 11, 1887. Louise Ling committed suicide in jail. The rest of the three were pardoned in 1893. In 1889 it was decided to declare May 1 as labor day. On first of May 1890, first May Day was observed in the memory of innocent martyred of Labor Movement. Gradually, the day became a most important phenomena in Labor Movements around the world and being observed now by the Governments every year. The earliest May Day celebrations appeared in pre-Christian, with the festival of Flora, the Roman Goddess of flowers, and the Walpurgis Night celebrations of the Germanic countries. It is also associated with the Gaelic Beltane. Many pagan celebrations were abandoned or Christianized during the process of conversion in Europe. A more secular version of May Day continues to be observed in Europe and America. In this form, May Day may be best known for its tradition of dancing the Maypole and crowning of the Queen of the May.

Various Neopagan groups celebrate reconstructed (to varying degrees) versions of these customs on May 1.
The day was a traditional summer holiday in many pre-Christian European pagan cultures. While February 1 was the first day of Spring, May 1 was the first day of summer; hence, the summer solstice on June 25 (now June 21) was Midsummer.

* In the Roman Catholic tradition, May is observed as Mary's month, and in these circles May Day is usually a celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In this connection, in works of art, school skits, and so forth, Mary's head will often be adorned with flowers in a May crowning.

Fading in popularity since the late 20th century is the giving of "May baskets," small baskets of sweets and/or flowers, usually left anonymously on neighbours' doorsteps.

Asia :

_India

In India, ‘May Day’ is commemorated as ‘Labour Day’.

The ‘Labour Day’ begins with the United States labour movement in 19th century. The labour movement was started on May 1, 1886 in United States. Some labour organizations in the country called on strike because they wanted 8-hour working days. There was carnage in Haymarket Square in Chicago on May 4th which resulted in killing of at least 12 labors who were killed on the excuse that a rebel threw a bomb into that area.

The rebels did not find an urgent result. But they gained a successful result slowly. When 8-hour working days became a reality, it became a standard in many countries around the world. ‘Labour Day’ was therefore selected as a day for rallies, processions and speeches. ‘Labour Day’ is a most important holiday in United States, Russia and socialist nations.

*** ‘Labour Day’ is an event observed on May 1 in many countries around the globe. ‘Labour Day’ is now frequently a day for processions and parades..

Nevertheless, in current years, the commemoration of this day has obtained a new roll, where the workers and trade organizations claim for safety and give the financial growth a humane countenance.

*** Maharashtra Day on May 1 is celebrated in Maharashtra, a state on western coast of India.

Maharashtra attained statehood on 1st of May, 1960 when the then state Bombay state was divided into two states, Maharashtra and Gujarat on the basis of different languages, Marathi and Gujarati, under the Saurashtra re-organization act. Maharashtra retained old capital Bombay, which was later renamed Mumbai.

_China

 
1 May is celebrated as Labour Day in China. It is a public holiday.

Europe:

_ England

Roodmas was a Christian Mass celebrated in England at midnight on May 1.

Traditional English May Day rites and celebrations include Morris dancing, crowning a May Queen and celebrations involving a Maypole.
* Much of this tradition derive from the pagan Anglo-Saxon customs held during "Þrimilci-mōnaþ"(the Old English name for the month of May meaning Month of Three Milking

May Day has been a traditional day of festivities throughout the centuries. With Christianity came agricultural feasts such as Plough Sunday (the first Sunday in January), Rogationtide, Harvest Festival and May Day. It is most associated with towns and villages celebrating springtime fertility and revelry with village fetes and community gatherings. Since May 1st is the Feast of St Philip & St James, they became the patron saints of workers. Seeding has been completed by this date and it was convenient to give farm labourers a day off. Perhaps the most significant of the traditions is the Maypole, around which traditional dancers circle with ribbons.

The May Day Bank Holiday, on the first Monday in May, was traditionally the only one to affect the state school calendar, although new arrangements in some areas to even out the length of school terms mean that the Good Friday and Easter Monday Bank Holidays, which vary from year to year, may also fall during term time.

1 May 1707 was the day the Act of Union came into effect, joining England and Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain.

In Oxford, it is traditional for May Morning revellers to gather below the Great Tower of Magdalen College at 6.00am to listen to the college choir sing traditional madrigals as a conclusion to the previous night's celebrations. It is then thought to be traditional for some people to jump off Magdalen Bridge into the River Cherwell. However this has actually only been fashionable since the 1970s. In recent years the bridge has been closed on 1 May to prevent people from jumping, as the water under the bridge is only 2 feet (61 cm) deep and jumping from the bridge has resulted in serious injury in the past yet there are still people who insist on climbing the barriers and leaping into the water, causing injury.

In Durham, students of the University of Durham gather on Prebend's Bridge to see the sunrise and enjoy festivities, folk music, dancing, madrigal singing and a barbecue breakfast. This is an emerging Durham tradition, with patchy observance since 2002.

Whitstable, Kent hosts a good example of more traditional May Day festivities, where the Jack in the Green festival was revived in 1976 and continues to lead an annual procession of morris dancers through the town on the May Bank Holiday. A separate revival occurred in Hastings in 1983 and has become a major event in the town calendar. Padstow also holds its annual 'Obby 'Oss festival. A traditional Sweeps Festival is performed over the May bank holiday in Rochester, Kent where the Jack In the Green is woken at dawn on the 1st of May by Morris dancers.

The town of Sawbridgeworth in Hertfordshire is well known for its mayday celebrations; drinking in one of the eleven Public Houses around the town and at the Good Intent for the Hog Roast. This local tradition has gone on for many years.

The Maydayrun involves thousands of motorbikes taking a 55-mile (89 km) trip from London(Locksbottom) to the Hastings seafront, East Sussex. The event has been taking place for almost 30 years now and has grown in interest from around the country, both commercially and publicly. The event is not officially organised; the police only manage the traffic, while volunteers manage the parking.

Padstow in Cornwall holds its annual 'Obby-Oss' day of festivities. This is believed to be one of the oldest fertility rites in the UK; revellers dance with the Oss through the streets of the town and even through the private gardens of the citizens, accompanied by accordion players and followers dressed in white with red or blue sashes who sing the traditional 'May Day' song. The whole town is decorated with springtime greenery, and every year thousands of onlookers attend. Prior to the 19th century distinctive May day celebrations were widespread throughout West Cornwall , and are being revived in St. Ives and Penzance.

Kingsand, Cawsand and Millbrook in Cornwall celebrate Flower Boat Ritual on the May Day bank holiday. A model of the ship The Black Prince is covered in flowers and is taken in procession from the Quay at Millbrook to the beach at Cawsand where it is cast adrift. The houses in the villages are decorated with flowers and people traditionally wear red and white clothes. There are further celebrations in Cawsand Square with Morris dancing and May pole dancing.

_ Scotland
In St Andrews, some of the students gather on the beach late on April 30 and run into the North Sea at sunrise on May Day, occasionally naked. This is accompanied by torchlit processions and much elated celebration.

Both Edinburgh and Glasgow organize Mayday festivals and rallies. In Edinburgh, the Beltane Fire Festival is held on the evening of May eve and into the early hours of May Day on the city's Calton Hill.

_ Ireland
A traditional May Day has been celebrated in Ireland since pagan times as the feast of Bealtaine and in latter times as Mary's day, bonfires are lit to mark the coming of summer and to banish the long nights of winter. (Officially Irish Mayday bank holiday is now on the first Monday in May).

_France
On May 1st, 1561, King Charles IX of France received a lily of the valley as a lucky charm. He decided to offer a lily of the valley each year to the ladies of the court. At the beginning of the 20th century, it became custom on the 1st of May, to give a sprig of lily of the valley, a symbol of springtime. The government permits individuals and workers' organisations to sell them free of taxation. It is also traditional for the lady receiving the spray of lily of valley to give a kiss in return. Now, people may present loved ones with bunches of lily of the valley or dog rose flowers

_ Germany
A stamp from East Germany celebrating the 100-year anniversary of International Workers Day on 1 May 1990.In rural regions of Germany, especially the Harz Mountains, Walpurgisnacht celebrations of Pagan origin are traditionally held on the night before May Day, including bonfires and the wrapping of maypoles, and young people use this opportunity to party, while the day itself is used by many families to get some fresh air. Motto: "Tanz in den Mai!" ("Dance into May!"). In the Rhineland, a region in the western part of Germany,

May 1 is also celebrated by the delivery of a tree covered in streamers to the house of a girl the night before.

The tree is typically from a love interest, though a tree wrapped only in white streamers is a sign of dislike. On leap years, it is the responsibility of the females to place the maypole, though the males are still allowed and encouraged to do so.

_Finland
While most celebrations take place on Mayday eve (see Walpurgis Night in Finland),

May Day itself is a public holiday that is the only carnival-style festivity in the country.

People, particularly students party on this day, arranging picnics and wearing the student cap.

However, all political organizations, including right and left wing parties, also arrange speeches and such events.

_ Pacific

  In Hawaii, May Day is also known as Lei Day, and is normally set aside as a day to celebrate island culture in general and native Hawaiian culture in particular.

While it was invented by a poet and a local newspaper columnist in the 1920s, it has since been adopted by state and local government as well as by the residents, and has taken on a sense of general spring celebration there. The first Lei Day was proposed in 1927 in Honolulu. Leonard "Red" and Ruth Hawk composed "May Day is Lei Day in Hawai'i," the traditional holiday song.

Originally it was a contemporary fox trot, later rearranged as the Hawaiian hula song performed today.

_Americas

May Day was also celebrated by some early European settlers of the American continent.

In some parts of the United States, May Baskets are made. These baskets are small and usually filled with flowers or treats and left at someone's doorstep.

The basket giver would ring the bell and run away.

The person receiving the basket would try to catch the fleeing giver. If they caught the person, a kiss was to be exchanged.
Modern May Day ceremonies in the U.S. vary greatly from region to region and many unite both the holiday's "Green Root" (pagan) and "Red Root" (labor) traditions .

 Among the largest is the May Day Parade and Pageant created by In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre, an event that has happened every year since 1975 in Minneapolis and now attracts some 35,000 people.

May 1 also is recognized in the U.S. as Law Day.

International Workers' Day

Approximately 700,000 people at a May Day concert in Rome  Main article: International Workers' Day

May Day can refer to various labour celebrations conducted on May 1 that commemorate the fight for the eight hour day. May Day in this regard is called International Workers' Day, or Labour Day.

The idea for a "workers holiday" began in Australia in 1856; after a Stonemason's victory, April 22nd was "Eight-Hour Day", a public holiday.
With the idea having spread around the world, the choice of May 1st became a commemoration by the Second International for the people involved in the 1886 Haymarket affair.

The Haymarket affair occurred during the course of a three-day general strike in Chicago, Illinois, United States that involved common laborers, artisans, merchants, and immigrants.
Following an incident in which police opened fire and killed four strikers at the McCormick Harvesting Machine Co. plant, a rally was called for the following day at Haymarket Square. Towards the end of the rally, as police moved in to disperse the event and opened fire on the unarmed crowed on the plea that an unknown assailant threw a bomb into the crowd of police. The bomb and resulting police riot left at least a dozen people dead, including one policemen.
A sensational show trial ensued in which eight defendants were openly tried for their political beliefs, and not necessarily for any involvement in the bombing.
The trial led to the eventual public hanging of four anarchists. The Haymarket incident was a source of outrage from people around the globe. In the following years, memory of the "Haymarket martyrs" was remembered with various May Day job actions and demonstrations.

-May Day has become an international celebration of the social and economic achievements of the labour movement. Although the commemoration of May Day as International Workers' Day received its inspiration from the United States, the U.S. Congress designated May 1 as Loyalty Day in 1958 due to the day's perceived appropriation by the Soviet Union.

Alternatively, Labor Day traditionally occurs on the first Monday in September in the United States.


______________________«Primero de mayo» .

El Día Internacional de los Trabajadores o Primero de Mayo, es la fiesta por antonomasia del movimiento obrero mundial.

Desde su establecimiento en la mayoría de países (aunque la consideración de día festivo fue en muchos casos tardía) por acuerdo del Congreso Obrero Socialista de la Segunda Internacional, celebrado en París en 1889, es una jornada de lucha reivindicativa y de homenaje a los Mártires de Chicago. Estos sindicalistas anarquistas fueron ejecutados en Estados Unidos por su participación en las jornadas de lucha por la consecución de la jornada laboral de ocho horas, que tuvieron su origen en la huelga iniciada el 1 de mayo de 1886 y su punto álgido tres días más tarde, el 4 de mayo, en la Revuelta de Haymarket. En la actualidad es una fiesta reivindicativa de los derechos de los trabajadores en sentido general, se celebra muchos de los países.

Llamativamente, en los Estados Unidos no se celebra esta conmemoración. En su lugar se celebra el Labor Day el primer lunes de septiembre desde 1882 en un desfile realizado en Nueva York y organizado por la Noble Orden de los Caballeros del Trabajo (Knights of Labor, en inglés). El presidente Grover Cleveland, auspició la celebración en septiembre por temor a que la fecha de mayo reforzase el movimiento socialista en los Estados Unidos.

*Los hechos que dieron lugar esta celebración están contextualizados en los albores de la revolución industrial en los Estados Unidos. A fines del siglo XIX Chicago era la segunda ciudad en número de habitantes de EE.UU. Del oeste y del sudeste llegaban cada año por ferrocarril miles de ganaderos desocupados, creando las primeras villas humildes que albergarían a cientos de miles de trabajadores. Además, estos centros urbanos acogieron a emigrantes venidos de todo el mundo a lo largo del siglo XIX.


En la actualidad

A lo largo del siglo XX, los progresos laborales se fueron acrecentando con leyes para los trabajadores, para otorgarles derechos de respeto, retribución y amparo social. En la última década del siglo esos progresos retrocedieron bajo la influencia del neoliberalismo.

En la actualidad, muchos países rememoran el Primero de Mayo como el origen del movimiento obrero moderno. Hay algunos que no lo hacen, siendo en general países de colonización británica, como Estados Unidos de Norteamérica y Canadá, que celebran el Labor Day (Día del Trabajo) el primer lunes de septiembre; Nueva Zelanda, el cuarto lunes de octubre.

En Australia, cada estado federal decide la fecha de celebración: el primer lunes de octubre en el Territorio de la Capital Australiana, Nueva Gales del Sur y Australia Meridional; el segundo lunes de marzo, en Victoria y Tasmania; el primer lunes de marzo, en Australia Occidental; y el primero de mayo en Queensland y el Territorio del Norte.

En 1954 el papa católico Pío XII apoyó tácitamente esta jornada de memoria colectiva al declararla como festividad de San José Obrero. Últimamente se viene denominando a este día como Día Internacional del Trabajo.

_______________________Fête du Travail

 En Français :

La journée internationale des travailleurs, ou fête des travailleurs, devenue fête du Travail, est une fête internationale annuelle célébrant les travailleurs. Elle est l’occasion d’importantes manifestations du mouvement ouvrier.

Instaurée à l'origine comme journée annuelle de grève pour la réduction du temps de travail, elle est célébrée dans de nombreux pays du monde le 1er mai. En Amérique du Nord, elle est célébrée officiellement le premier lundi de septembre. Au Royaume-Uni et en Irlande, elle est décalée le premier lundi de mai. En Australie, elle est fêtée à différentes dates proches du printemps ou de l’automne.

Elle est souvent (mais pas toujours) instaurée comme jour férié légal. Elle est parfois associée à d’autres festivités ou traditions populaires.

* Dans le monde :
Aujourd’hui, la fête du Travail (et/ou fête des Travailleurs) est commémorée par un jour chômé le 1er mai dans la plupart des pays ayant institué une telle fête.

En Amérique :

_Amérique du Nord
En Amérique du Nord, il existe une distinction entre fête du Travail et fête des Travailleurs :

En effet la fête du Travail officielle (Labor Day) est célébrée le premier lundi de septembre, il s’agit d’un jour férié marquant traditionnellement la rentrée (scolaire, artistique, etc.) après les vacances d’été.
La fête des Travailleurs a, quant à elle, lieu le 1er mai. Ce jour n’est pas férié, mais est très largement célébré par les syndicats ainsi que les partis, groupes et organisation de gauche. Traditionnellement, lorsqu’il y a une augmentation du salaire minimum au Québec, cela a lieu le 1er mai.
Aux États-Unis et au Canada où la fête du Travail est célébrée le 1er lundi de septembre (les puissants syndicats nord-américains comme l’AFL-CIO n’ont pas voulu s’aligner sur les syndicats européens d’orientation socialiste).

Le 1er mai demeure tout de même célébré par certaines personnes en Amérique du Nord. En effet on distingue la fête du Travail (1er lundi de septembre) et la fête des Travailleurs (1er mai). Cette dernière étant vue comme une journée de la célébration de la classe ouvrière, alors que l’autre est considérée par plusieurs comme étant une tentative de récupération des luttes ouvrières.

Par exemple, au Québec, les grandes centrales syndicales ainsi que quelques partis et organisations de gauche manifestent le 1er mai. Plus récemment, les institutions syndicales québécoises ont tendance à célébrer la Fête des travailleurs par des rassemblements festifs le samedi ou le dimanche précédent ou suivant le 1er mai, plutôt que la journée même lorsque celle-ci tombe un jour ouvrable. Cette pratique indique un accommodement de plus en plus intégré entre les pratiques syndicales québécoises et les impératifs du marché du travail. Malgré cette nouvelle tendance, des manifestations sont scrupuleusement organisées le 1er mai de chaque année par des collectifs et organismes anticapitalistes.

_Caraïbes
À Trinité-et-Tobago, la Fête du travail est marquée le 19 juin depuis 1973 pour commémorer les émeutes populaires de 1937.


En Asie :

En Indonésie, le fête du Travail a commencé à être célébrée en 1920 à l'époque coloniale. Sous le régime Soeharto, fêter le 1er Mai était une activité subversive. Depuis la démission de Soeharto en 1998, le 1er Mai est célébré par les syndicats mais n'est toujours pas jour chômé.

_En Israël, on ne chôme pas le 1er mai.

_Officiellement, la Chine célébrait auparavant la fête du Travail pendant trois jours, sauf depuis 2008, où les travailleurs n'ont que le 1er Mai.

Cependant une grande partie des magasins restent ouverts. La Chine, le Vietnam et la Corée du Nord s'inscrivent dans la tradition ouvrière du 1er mai chômé introduit par la IIe Internationale; le Parti Unique s'y retrouve politiquement et symboliquement. Quant à la Corée du Sud, elle reste l'un des seuls pays asiatiques qui donne au 1er Mai le même symbole occidental et démocratique à la fête du Travail.

_Au Japon, la fête du travail (勤労感謝の日, Kinrō Kansha no Hi) est célébrée le 23 novembre, jour férié. Ce jour de congé fut établi en 1948, pour louer le travail et célébrer la production. Avant cela, le 23 Novembre était célébré comme une fête de la moisson impériale appelée Niiname-sai (新嘗祭).

En Europe :

_En Allemagne

 
En Allemagne, le 1er mai est chômé. On porte traditionnellement un œillet rouge à la boutonnière pour la fête du Travail. Cette tradition remonte au 1er mai 1890, où pour répondre à l'appel de la IIe Internationale malgré l’interdiction de manifester prévue par la Sozialistengesetz, les militants décident de se retrouver dans des parcs en portant un œillet rouge en signe de reconnaissance.

Plutôt délaissé en République fédérale d'Allemagne, ce symbole était très utilisé en République démocratique allemande, entre autres par les organisations de jeunesses.

Le 1er mai donne aussi lieu à des réjouissances en l’honneur du printemps selon le rite ancestral de l’« arbre de mai », que l'on retrouve dans différentes régions d’Europe (on peut lire à ce propos un très joli poème de Victor Hugo).

En certains endroits, comme à Stuttgart, les enfants profitent de la nuit précédant le 1er mai pour faire des farces d’une façon qui rappelle l'Halloween.

En France

 Le 1 er mai et le muguet :

Le muguet n'apparaît dans les jardins qu'au XVIème siècle.
Le 1er mai 1561, le roi Charles IX  ayant reçu à cette date un brin de muguet en guise de porte-bonheur, il décida d'en offrir chaque année aux dames de la cour. *La tradition du brin de muguet était née.

_En France, au début du XXe siècle, il devient habituel, à l'occasion du 1er mai, d'offrir un brin de muguet, symbole du printemps en Île-de-France. Une tolérance de l'administration fiscale permet aux particuliers et aux organisations de travailleurs de vendre les brins de muguet sans formalités ni taxes.

Au 19e siècle, lors des premiers cortèges du 1er mai, les manifestants portaient un petit triangle rouge, symbole de la division de la journée de travail en 3x8 (travail, sommeil, loisirs).

Plus tard, ils fleuriront leurs boutonnières d'églantines, symbole de la foi en la révolution et en 1907, lors du 1er mai, le muguet, fleur traditionnelle des bois d'Ile-de-France, apparaît. En 1936, du "Front populaire", on a vendu des bouquets de muguet cravatés de rouge. Au fil des ans, le brin a perdu de sa connotation politique

-Le 23 avril 1919, le Sénat ratifie la journée de huit heures et *** fait du 1er mai suivant une journée chômée.
-Le 24 avril 1941, le maréchal Pétain, instaure officiellement le 1er Mai comme « la fête du Travail et de la Concorde sociale ». À l’initiative de René Belin, ancien dirigeant de l’aile anticommuniste de la CGT (Confédération Générale du Travail) devenu secrétaire d’État au Travail dans le gouvernement de François Darlan, le jour devient chômé. La radio ne manque pas de souligner que le 1er mai coïncide aussi avec la fête du saint patron du maréchal, saint Philippe.
***L’églantine rouge, associée à la gauche, est remplacée par le muguet.

En 1947 le 1er mai devient de droit un jour férié chômé et payé pour tous les salariés sans conditions[ ; (mais il n’est pas officiellement désigné comme fête du Travail).
* Ce n’est que le 29 avril 1948 qu’est officialisée la dénomination « fête du Travail » pour le 1er mai.

Beaucoup à gauche voudraient que la fête du Travail redevienne la fête des Travailleurs, ils refusent la mesure de Pétain, par contre l’églantine rouge (d’origine révolutionnaire) n’est plus vraiment une revendication, d’autant que la vente libre du muguet par tous ce jour-là donne l’occasion aux syndicats de rencontrer la population et faire connaître leurs activités et revendications

Sources des informations : web

Au sujet  du MUGUET  :

Le muguet est tonicardiaque et diurétique. La présence de l'hétérosides cardiotoniques, entre autres de la convallatoxine, de la convallamarine et la convallarine, la rend toxique. L'effet est de ralentir le rythme cardiaque et d'augmenter la pression artérielle ; en outre, il a une action diurétique par irritation de l'épithélium rénal^[5]. Toutes les parties de la plante sont toxiques. Comme beaucoup d'autres plantes toxiques, à dose adéquate, elle a des propriétés pharmacologiques, et a été utilisée dans le traitement de maladies cardiaques particulières. Attention, son usage domestique est à proscrire du fait de son inintérêt et du danger mortel qu'il ferait courir. La convallatoxine a une action proche de la digitaline et de l'ouabaïne, pour avoir une idée de la réelle toxicité.

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muguet_de_mai

**Attention à vos  compagnons qu'ils ne les avalent pas : autrement contactez votre vétérinaire .

**About Lily of the Valley

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lily_of_the_Valley

It is a symbol of humility in religious painting .

Lily of the valley, along with scilla and star-of-Bethlehem, are early spring bulbs commonly used in gardens. All contain poisons called cardiac glycosides, which act rather like the drug digitalis.
Children, especially, have been poisoned by eating the berries of this colonial bedding plant.
An extract of lily of the valley was once used as a medicinal heart stimulant, but it has now been replaced in pharmacology by digitalis, which is an extract of foxgloves.

POISON LOCATION :Leaves, stems, berries, and roots all contain toxic compounds. The most potent concentration is usually found in swollen underground stems, known variously as bulbs, rhizomes, and corms.

POISON TYPE:Glycosides in wild hyacinth, star-of-Bethlehem, and lily of the valley. Alkaloids in Indian hellebore, autumn crocus, and tulips. While Indian hellebore, autumn crocus, and lily of the valley have, or have had, medicinal uses, all of these plants can be dangerous or fatal if ingested in large doses.

***They are also toxic to animals so call your vet immediately if your cat or dog ingests lily-of-the-valley

**Convallaria majalis

Propiedades

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convallaria_majalis

• Las hojas y flores contienen glucósidos.
• En la primera guerra mundial se utilizó para tratar a las víctimas del gas mostaza.
• Tiene efectos parecidos al que produce el digital y está indicada contra la insuficiencia cardíaca y palpitaciones.
• Se asocia como tónico cardíaco al Espino albar.
• Discretamente diurético, se recomienda en casos de edemas, en especial de origen cardiaco.
• Tóxico, puede provocar vómitos y diarreas por su contenido en saponinas