For many, violets are a funeral flower; it was once thrown in graves ‘for remembrance’, much like rosemary or rue, in rural England. The mourners also carried violets to protect themselves against ‘poisonous exhalations’ while in the cemetery. In ancient Greece, so many violets were placed in a grave that they almost completed concealed the body, and they were also scattered about tombs. Persephone was gathering violets the day she was kidnapped by Pluto and carried off to the Underworld. Napoleon was fond of the flower, as was Josephine, and she had them showered on her coffin when she died. Napoleon the Little was buried under a pall of woven violets. And in Hamlet, Shakespeare writes: ‘Lay her in the earth:/ And from her unpolluted flesh / May violets spring!’

Because of their association with death, violets became a flower of ill omen. Wearing them around your neck can prevent drunkenness, but it is also believed to encourage fleas to move into the home. The flowers were thought to warn of epidemic or death; if they do bloomin autumn it is said to be a death omen.

Violets figured prominently in the gruesome worship of Attis and Cybele. Attis was a vegetation god, similar to Adonis, and in legends was a shepherd beloved by the Phyrigian Mother of the Gods, Cybele. His death, in one legend, was due to a boar, again similar to Adonis. But in the more popular legend of his death, he emasculated himself underneath a pine tree and bled to death. Violets were said to have sprung from his blood. The priests of Cybele ritually self-mutilated themselves in the same manner. During the spring festival of Cybele and Attis, a pine tree was cut down and brought to the temple, then swathed in violets. During the third day of the festival (the ‘Day of Blood’), the high priest would cut his arms and offer the blood as a sacrifice, while the novices would castrate themselves underneath the violet-covered tree.

The Welsh had an interesting custom concerning violets. If a man had been beaten, violets would supposedly divine whether he would live or die. A bruised violet was bound to his forefinger; if he fell asleep, supposedly he would recover. Otherwise, he would die.

Many people don’t realize this, but sweet violet is edible, and has been used medicinally for many centuries. I made candied violet flowers recently; here’s the recipe.

Candied Violets

This was the recipe I found in Herb Quarterly, Spring 1996:

Gather the blossoms before the dew dries; remove stems and dry the petals with a soft towel. Place hand-dried petals in a sunny window or barely warm oven. Beat an egg white until it is fluffy and gently coat each petal using a soft brush. Dip each flower into granulated sugar, shaking off the excess. Dip again. Let dry thoroughly. Use to decorate cakes or ices. Refrigerated in a tightly sealed container, the violets will keep for two weeks.’

Well, this was a lot harder than it sounded. Some things I learned:

* Do not pick the flowers ahead of time, not even the night before. Pick them that morning, otherwise they’ll get all mushy and won’t keep their shape.
* If you do pick them ahead of time, or have some that don’t want to keep their shape, the best way I found to deal with them was by placing them flat, face-down and arranged in a proper ‘flower shape’, on a cookie sheet. Brush the egg white on the back side of the petals first, sprinkle sugar on them, and allow this to dry. Then the flower will usually retain its shape for you to be able to do the front side.
* Even if you have sturdy, fresh flowers, they usually don’t take well to being dipped in the sugar. I found sprinkling it on was far more effective.