Lily of the valley legend of origin. Legends and myths about lily of the valley

According to ancient Slavic myths, the lily of the valley is associated with the tears of the mistress of the underwater kingdom Volkhova, who tenderly and devotedly loved Sadko. And when she found her beloved with her lovebird, the earthly beauty Lyubava, she shed burning tears of resentment on the ground, which fell like white pearls from Volkhova’s blue eyes and turned into lily of the valley flowers.
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 the shelter. 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 there is a beautiful legend that surrounds 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, which 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.
In Finland, the lily of the valley is the state flower symbol. 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.
Another Christian legend claims that the lily of the valley grew from the tears that the Virgin Mary dropped at the foot of the crucified Christ. In the language of flowers, lily of the valley symbolizes humility, purity, modesty and a return to happiness.
In Greek mythology, no mention of lilies of the valley has yet been found, although on some sites the lily of the valley is attributed to the legends about the goddess of the hunt Diana (an earlier prototype of Artemis), who was attacked by Fauns during a hunt. Running away from them, the goddess sweated so much that the drops rolled to the ground and sprouted in the form of fragrant flowers. Other sources claim that lilies of the valley belong to the cult of the goddess of spring named Maya, the daughter of the mythical god Atlas.

In the season when lilies of the valley are blooming everywhere, I couldn’t pass by without capturing in photographs the flowers that are the subject of more than one legend and tale, and at the same time, by publishing the photographs, collecting legends and tales about lilies of the valley in one place.

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.

Lily of the valley

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 him. And, embarrassed to show his feelings, he began to hide in the tall grass to enjoy the nightingale’s song from the shelter. 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.

Lilies of the valley

The French also have a legend about the lily of the valley, which says that in ancient times there lived Saint Leonard, a close friend of the king. He loved nature so much that one fine day he decided to become a hermit, secluded himself in the forest among birds and flowers. He wandered through the forests and fields for a long time and finally chose a wonderful place for himself. Having made his choice, Saint Leonard devoted himself to prayer. At this time, a dragon approached him and ordered him to leave this place. But Leonard was so immersed in prayer that he did not hear the dragon. Then the dragon got angry and burned the wanderer with blazing fire. A fierce battle ensued between them, but in St. Leonard defeated the evil dragon. But in the place where drops of the dragon’s blood fell, weeds grew. And from the drops of St. Leonard’s blood, beautiful white flowers began to appear on the ground - lilies of the valley.

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 Slavs believed that lilies of the valley were the tears of the mistress of the underwater kingdom of Volkhova, who loved Sadko very tenderly and devotedly. But one day she found him with the earthly beauty-homewrecker Lyubava. And then pearly tears flowed from Volkhov’s eyes and, falling to the ground, turned into snow-white flowers.

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 beads from 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.

Some species of lily of the valley are listed in the Red Book. Treat these fragile plants with care, and they will delight you with their delicate blooms in early May for many years to come. You can discover a lot of new information about the first symbols of spring by reading interesting facts about lilies of the valley.

1. Small drops of sweat flowed from her exhausted body, fell to the ground and instantly turned into the ringing bells of a lily of the valley.


2. In Ukraine, there is a belief that this tender, fragile plant grows where the bitter tears of girls waiting for their husbands from the war fall. An English legend tells that the snow-white bells are nothing more than small beads from Snow White’s scattered necklace. And the Celts believed that lilies of the valley were the real jewels of fairy-tale elves.


3. Several centuries ago, girls, for a healthy glow, rubbed their cheeks with lily of the valley flowers. It was believed that if you place a modest bouquet of snow-white bells at the head of the marital bed, the man will become more attentive and gentle, and his companion will become liberated and passionate.


4. The ancient Egyptians practiced year-round cultivation of lilies of the valley in the 1st century. BC. In the middle of the 15th century. In Western Europe, flower growers received spectacular forms of pink and red lilies of the valley.


5. There was a custom in French villages: when inviting his chosen one to dance, the guy handed her a bouquet of fragile plants. Accepting the bouquet meant consent to a romantic relationship. If a lady threw flowers at the feet of her gentleman, in this way she expressed an extreme degree of contempt and indignation.


6. Previously, on the first Sunday of the last spring month, and now on May 1, the French celebrate the holiday of lilies of the valley. On this day, people exchange with each other embroidered bouquets of lilies of the valley, postcards, and souvenirs with the symbolism of bells. Flowers decorate the courtyards and interiors of houses.


7. In Rus', lily of the valley has long been valued for its healing properties.. However, it received official recognition as a medicinal plant only at the end of the 19th century. Due to its cardiotonic properties, lily of the valley is still used in pharmacology. In particular, it is a component of Zelenin drops intended for the treatment of tachycardia and acute heart failure.


8. Lily of the valley has different names in different countries. The Danes call it "liliconval", the British - the valley of lilies, the Czechs - the bun, the Bulgarians - the tear of a girl, the Germans - the May bell.


9. Keiske lily of the valley grows in the Far East. The height of individual plants can reach 30 cm.


10. Lily of the valley is P.I.’s favorite spring flower. Tchaikovsky and D. Mendeleev. Poems by S. Marshak, A. Fet, V. Sosyura were dedicated to silver bells.


11. The image of the lily of the valley is also used in the heraldry of Russian settlements. Delicate bells are present on the flags of Zhedyaevsky, Veselovsky and Besleneyevsky rural settlements.

Unfortunately, Slavic mythology originated in a time when there was no written language and was never written down. But some things can be restored from ancient evidence, oral folk art, rituals and folk beliefs.

The myth of the creation of the world by Rod

At first there was nothing but chaos, everything was one. Then the ancient god Rod descended to earth in a golden egg and got to work. At first he decided to separate light and darkness, and the sun rolled out of the golden egg, illuminating everything around.
Then the moon appeared, taking its place in the night sky.
Afterwards, the progenitor created an immense water world, from which land later rose - vast lands on which tall trees stretched to the sky, various animals ran, and birds sang their wondrous songs. And he created a rainbow to separate land and sea, Truth and Falsehood.
Then Rod rose up on the golden egg and looked around, he liked the fruits of his labor. God exhaled onto the earth - and the wind rustled in the trees, and from his breath the goddess of love Lada was born, who turned into the bird Sva.
Rod divided the world into three kingdoms: heavenly, earthly and underworld. He created the first for the gods, who were supposed to maintain order on earth, the second became the abode of people, and the last - a haven for the dead. And through them grows a gigantic oak tree - the World Tree, which grew from a seed thrown by the creator. Its roots are hidden in the world of the dead, its trunk passes through the earthly kingdom, and its crown supports the sky.
Rod populated the kingdom of heaven with the gods he created. Together with Lada, they created the mighty god Svarog. Having breathed life into him, the creator god gave him four heads, so that he could look to all corners of the world and keep an eye on order.
Svarog became a faithful assistant to the progenitor: he paved the path of the Sun across the firmament and the path of the moon across the night sky. Since then, the sun rises at dawn, and at night the moon floats into the star-lit sky.

How Chernobog wanted to take over the Universe

The evil god Chernobog, the lord of darkness, was born in time immemorial. And Krivda began to plunge his mind into dark thoughts and lead him to evil deeds. He succumbed to temptations and planned to subjugate the whole world to himself, turned into a Black Serpent and crawled out of his lair.
Svarog, who was keeping an eye on the world, sensed something was wrong. He made himself a huge hammer in the forge and swung it down on Alatyr to create helpers for himself. Sparks flew in all directions, from which the gods immediately appeared. The first to be born was the heavenly god Dazhdbog. Then Khors, Simargl and Stribog appeared.
The Serpent crawled to Alatyr and struck silver sparks with its tail on the stone, which turned into earthly and underground evil spirits. Dazhdbog saw this and sent Simargl, a messenger between heaven and earth, to tell Svarog about everything. He flew away to his father and told him that a great battle was coming between evil and good. Svarog listened to his son and began to forge weapons for his army in the heavenly forge.
And the time for battle came - the forces of light met the forces of evil. That battle lasted for a long time and was not easy. Dark forces made their way into the heavenly palace and almost penetrated Svarog’s forge. Then Svarog forged a plow and launched it at Chernobog as soon as he appeared at the door. He called the children to help, and together they harnessed the Snake to the plow and captured all the evil spirits.
Then the dark god prayed and asked to spare his offspring. Svarog was fair and compassionate, he promised to spare the Navi people only if none of the gods of the entire Universe ruled. And he ordered to dig the great boundary between the two worlds. And that boundary will pass through the entire world of people, on one side there will be the kingdom of Svarog, on the other there will be dark lands. Chernobog agreed, because there was no choice anyway - so the gods came to an agreement.
The gods began to divide their kingdoms with a plow; the world of the light gods became on the right, and Navi on the left. That furrow went through the middle of the human world, which is why good and bad are alike on earth. The World Tree united three worlds. On the right, in its branches sits Alkonost, the bird of paradise. On the left is the dark bird Sirin.
Svarog and the fertility goddess Lada began to populate the world with animals and birds. They planted trees and flowers.
And after all the work, they began to play in the forest clearing. They started throwing stones over their shoulders. The Mother of Cheese, the Earth, moistened them with dew, which is why they turned into people. Those who fell from Lada became maidens, and the Svarogs became fine fellows. Then Lada didn’t have enough of that, she began to rub the branches one against the other. Divine sparks appeared, from which beautiful maidens and lads appeared. Rod was pleased because the world that he had once created was flourishing again. The gods ordered people to live according to the covenants carved on the Alatyr stone. And Mokosh began to spin the threads of fate, assigning a deadline to everyone.

The myth of the magic lily of the valley

Perun decided to take the rain goddess Dodola as his wife. Many gods were invited to the wedding, and Veles was not forgotten. The Thunderer hoped to reconcile with his old enemy. The wedding took place in the heavenly kingdom, and a feast began in the Garden of Eden.
The gods rejoiced at the holiday and drank hops for health. Only Veles sat gloomier than a cloud - he liked the bride, and did not take his eyes off her throughout the feast. His heart was corroded by envy of Perun for taking such a beauty as his wife.
Veles then descended to earth from Iriy and wandered for a long time through the dense forests. One day Dodola went for a walk on earth through the forests and meadows. Veles noticed her, and feelings flared up, and he almost lost his mind from them. He turned into a lily of the valley at her very feet. Dodola picked a flower and smelled it. And then she gave birth to a son, Yarila.
Her husband found out about this and immediately separated with righteous anger. He wanted to destroy the vile Veles, who was so grateful for his kindness. And then those two gods came together in battle. That battle lasted three days and three nights, until the Thunderer defeated Veles with difficulty. Perun brought him to Alatyr-stone so that the gods would judge him. And the gods then banished Veles from Iriy to the underworld forever.

How Veles stole the heavenly cows

This happened when Veles was already living in the underworld. Yaga persuaded him to steal the heavenly cows from the gods. God resisted for a long time, but then he remembered that when he lived in Iria, he took better care of the cows than anyone else. And now no one will look after them better than him. Then Yaga raised a whirlwind from the earth to the very sky, which carried all the cows into the underworld. There Veles hid them in a large cave and began to look after them.
When the forest animals found out about this, they decided that now they could do anything. The wolves dispersed the most - they lost all fear and began to drive away the livestock. And people began to steal each other's animals. But this is not all the troubles that have begun on earth. All the pastures and all the crops dried up, all because the clouds disappeared along with the cows of heaven.
The people of the gods began to pray that Veles would return the cows, so that the drought would end, and everything would be as before. Perun and Dazhbog heard the prayers and decided to help. They descended to earth, to the gates of the underworld. And there the army of Veles is already waiting for them. And he himself hid in the roots of the World Tree in order to quietly attack the gods.
But Perun was the first to notice him and threw his lightning at the root. Lightning struck the Tree strongly, it staggered, and the earth trembled. Dazhbog stopped the thunderer, fearing that the Tree would fall, and with it the whole world.
Perun challenged Veles to a fair fight, and God could not refuse because of pride. He turned into a fire-breathing Serpent, and they fought in battle. And all its inhabitants came out from the underworld to watch that battle, opening the stone doors.
Dazhbog slipped into the underground kingdom and began to look for the heavenly herd. The two gods fought for a long time, and with difficulty Perun defeated the Snake. He then took on his true form and started to run. The Thunderer pursued Veles and shot lightning arrows after him. And Perun heard the voice of Dazhbog asking him to throw lightning at the mountain to rescue the heavenly flock. Perun split the mountain with a shot, and the cows of heaven returned to Iriy.

How Veles locked underground waters

For many years, people revered various gods with prayers and sacrifices, but they forgot about Veles, the ruler of the underworld. His idol fell into disrepair, and the sacred fire, where gifts were once brought, almost went out.
Veles was then offended that people forgot about him, and he closed all the water sources with locks. Then a drought began on the earth, the livestock began to get sick because all the pastures dried up. And people began to pray to the gods for help. One family even left their relatives at home and went into the forest to Perun’s idol to ask the rain to moisten the dry soil.
The raven heard people's prayers and soared up into Iriy itself, the abode of the heavenly gods. He found Perun and told about the misfortune that had happened to people. God listened to the raven and became angry with Veles. And he decided to teach him a lesson because he had locked the underground waters with strong locks. He took his bow and lightning arrows, saddled a snow-white horse and went to look for the Serpent.
Veles then inspected the land to which he had sent a drought, and was pleased that he had punished the people. But he saw Perun flying in the sky, got scared and wanted to hide underground. But the Thunderer prevented him by shooting lightning from his bow. Then the Snake decided to crawl into the hollow of the old oak tree. But the good god managed to set the tree on fire, shooting his arrow from the high sky. Veles then decided to hide under the boulder, but it shattered into small pebbles when Perun hit him with a bow.
The Serpent realized that he could not hide from Perunov’s anger, and then began to beg for mercy. He promised to show all the locks to which he had locked the underground springs. Then the Thunderer had mercy and agreed. The Lord of the Underworld pointed out all the secluded places in which he had locked up the water. But I lost my keys while I was hiding from Perunov’s lightning. Perun smashed all the castles with his club, and water returned to the springs and rivers, and the wells and lakes were filled again.
And so the drought ended, and the pastures sprouted with green grass. And people no longer forgot to honor Veles along with other gods.

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 the shelter. 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, which 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 later I 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 state flower symbol. 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.