Happy Birthday…. May!

"The world's favorite season is the spring.

All things seem possible in May."

-  Edwin Way Teale

A little birthstone history, fact, lore and legend.

I love May…the Lily of the Valley blooms and the Nightingale sings! 

Lily of the Valley is May's birth flower and the Nightingale is it's bird.

One legend tells that the first Lily of the Valley loved the Nightingale, but because she was so shy, she hid in the long grass to listen to his song. The Nightingale became lonely, and said he would no longer sing unless the Lily of the Valley bloomed every May for all too see.

The traditional and modern birthstone for May is the emerald.  As a symbol of rebirth, the emerald is believed to grant the owner foresight, good fortune, patience, understanding and youth.

Emerald, derived from the word smaragdus, meaning green in Greek, was mined in Egypt as early as 330 B.C. Today, most of the world’s emeralds are mined in Colombia, Brazil, Afghanistan, and Zambia.

One of Cleopatra's favorite gems, the emerald has long been associated with fertility, rebirth, and love.

 Ancient Romans went so far as to dedicate this stone to Venus, the goddess of love and beauty.

May’s mystical birthstone is the sapphire…..but I will save that for September!

Happy Birthday May, Happy Spring! Pick a few Lily of the Valley and listen to the Nightingale sing.