File:Purple Storm Primrose (244055385).jpeg

500px provided description: Legend says that Primroses sprang from the body of Paralisos (the Primrose's ancient name) after he died of a broken heart. Victorians used to plant Primroses on the graves of children.

There is a lot of Primrose folklore attached to the ability of Primroses to let people see fairies. If you touched a fairy rock with the right number of Primroses in a posy you will be shown the way to fairyland. The wrong number would lead to certain doom. A German legend tells of a little girl who found a doorway covered in flowers and touched it with a Primrose - it opened up into an enchanted castle. Germans also believed that Primroses could reveal the way to hidden treasure and called the plant Key Flower ? (schusselblume). Children used to eat the flowers in the belief that this would enable them to see fairies. Posies would be left on doorsteps so that fairies would bless the house and the people in it. Scatter Primroses outside doors to keep fairies away as they won't cross this barrier. Don't let Primroses die as they are popular with fairies. Carry a Primrose flower and peer over the petals in order to see fairies. Leave a Primrose on the doorstep on May Day eve to prevent witches entering.

In Ireland on May Day, Primrose balls were hung on cows' tails to deter witches. In Hampshire, woodmen boiled Primroses in lard to make an ointment to treat injuries. Bunches of Primroses would be left in cowsheds so that fairies would not steal the milk.

Primroses were believed to affect luck in poultry rearing, presumably because some primroses and all chicks are both bright yellow. Children were warned never to bring fewer than thirteen primroses into the house, for this was the optimum number for a clutch of chicks, and fewer primroses meant fewer eggs would hatch. If you keep chickens and see a single primrose, dance round it three times in order to avert ill omens. It was sometimes further believed that giving someone a single primrose, or bringing one indoors, would cause death. [#flower ,#purple ,#blossom ,#primrose ,#primula ,#Purple Storm]