The Moselle village of Greiveldange has celebrated Léiffrawëschdag every year since 1985. The festival honours an old tradition, which was reintroduced 40 years ago on Ascension Day, in which local residents assemble bouquets of flowers and herbs in order to decorate the village.
The plants are collected two days prior, including wildflowers and herbs from village gardens. Each year, the selection is different depending on weather conditions. This year, for example, collecting plants was a little more challenging than usual due to the heat, said Greiveldange resident Nadine Hau, as many plants had already dried out, and some herbs that are normally easy to find had instead bloomed at different times.
Despite the heatwave, villagers collected enough to make over a hundred bouquets this year. Assembling the bouquets follows a very specific order: first, they take different types of wheat, then herbs, and finally flowers. Ideally every bouquet uses just one of each plant. Then they are bound with string, and a root and an onion are added.
Traditionally, the bouquets were made to honour the hard work put in by local farmers and winegrowers, and later became a church tradition. This is still the case today: bouquets made for Léiffrawëschdag are taken to the church to be blessed, and afterwards everyone can take a bouquet home with them. The majority of people hang them up at home and leave them there for the whole year. Any proceeds from the bouquets are donated to a good cause.
In 1985, the tradition was revived for the first time in Greiveldange, and in 2020 it was named part of Luxembourg’s intangible cultural heritage. Now it is a joyful tradition giving people a reason to explore nature, as well as encouraging young people to do so.
