For people in the United States 'the Mayflower' was the ship that transported the Pilgrims from Plymouth, England, to Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts. The Swedish word for 'Mayflower' is 'Maj-blomma'. 'The Maj-blomma' is a tradition in Sweden in the Spring time. It is a flower (not an actual flower but a pin) that is sold to raise money for charity. The May flower tradition was started by Beda Hallberg (1869-1945) in 1907 who introduced it to collect money for Tubercolosis (which was a serious disease at that time). Beda wanted the flower to be very cheap so that everyone would be able to afford one. We still sell the May flower for charity. About four million flowers are being sold every year in Sweden. There is a rule that I did not know about. The flower must be blue every five years. This year the flower is a hundred years old and the color is once again blue. School children sell the flowers during two weeks in April. People buy them like crazy.

This is what the flower looked like the year I was born (1974).




And this is this year's May flower. Blue and yellow, just like the Swedish flag!