The tradition of 'Majblomman'

H.R.H. Queen Silvia of Sweden, as tradition has it, buys the year's first Majblomma on April 17. 

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  Hundreds of thousands of children are selling May flowers every year in Sweden. While the children are selling the pins to collect money for charity, select cities carry “intelligent posters” where people can vote for next year’s May flower colors by pushing on the favorite. Photo: Julia Hallengren

• Hundreds of thousands of children are selling May flowers every year in Sweden. While the children are selling the pins to collect money for charity, select cities carry “intelligent posters” where people can vote for next year’s May flower.

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  Beda Hallberg, the creator of Majblomman. Her idea was to give a little flower as a “receipt” to the children who donated money to her foundation.

• The Swedish Majblomma (the May Flower) turned 100 years old in 2007. Majblomman is a little pin sold by children age 9-12 to collect money for charity, charity specifically aimed at sick and handicapped children.

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  Majblomma 2009, pink and red with a green center.

• Founder of the enterprise was Beda Hallberg (1869-1945), a socially conscious woman who worked as a volunteer among the poor in Göteborg. In those days, prior to Sweden’s welfare system, nobody paid much attention to the sick and poor. Whatever help existed was insufficient and often given out at random. The main concern at the time was tuberculosis.

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  The 2010 Majblomman poster by Ernst Billgren.

• Hallberg wanted to focus her help on children, and with that in mind, she founded Förstamajblommans Riksförbund in Göteborg in 1907. Her idea was to give a little flower as a “receipt” to the children who donated money to her foundation. The flower was to be sold on the first of May every year at such a low prize that everyone could afford it. And so the Majblomma became the children’s flower. Even though Sweden today is a different society, there are still children who need help.

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  Majblomman 2010.

• Today the Förstamajblommans riksförbund has 800 local organizations, each works with the local school system as well as with medical and health services in the area. The goal is to help children who suffer because of illness, handicap, or difficult social circumstances. Allowances are given out to single children, projects or research.

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  Artist Caroline af Ugglas with the May Flower poster of 2009, "Straight into the heart” (Rakt in i hjärtat) Photo: Maria Rosenlöf

• The first majblommor (1907) were sold in Göteborg only and cost 10 öre each (a little over 1 cent) – 139,000 were sold that year. Last year (2008) around 150,000 children all over Sweden collected 39 million Swedish crowns in two weeks. The color of the first majblomma was a deep blue, but every year the color changes. You can buy a single pin, or a wreath. For a while there were also majblomman bumper stickers. The 100th anniversary year’s majblomma was a pretty cornflower blue with a yellow center – like the Swedish flag. This year’s Majblomma is pink and deep red with a green center.

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  Artist Ernst Billgren, creator of the 2010 Majblomman poster. Photo: Maria Rosenlöf.

• To see all the majblommor through the years, read more about the history (Swedish only), or to e-mail a majblomma to someone special, go to: Majblomman

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  H.R.H. Queen Silvia of Sweden, as tradition has it, buys the year's first Majblomma. In 2012, the honor of visiting the Swedish Castle went to the children Jessica Ibrahim and Christoffer Jahnberg from Göteborg. Photo: Majblomman/Karin Skoog