🌸 This time of year, every year, children all over Sweden sell small Mayflower pins (‘majblommor’) to raise money for children who are less well off.

This year, there’s a limited-edition flower with 9 instead of 10 petals – a symbol for the fact that about 1 in 10 children in Sweden live in families who are struggling financially.

Queen Silvia of Sweden is Majblomman’s highest patron and traditionally buys the first flower every spring. 💜 Children decide what the new year’s flower should look like, with thousands of schoolchildren sending in their designs and voting for their favourite. 🧒🥇

The 2024 flower has been designed by 16-year-old Alexis Monnakgotla Svensson from Stockholm. Its violet colour is a hommage to Alexis’s friend, Viola.

Non-profit organisation Majblomman has been working for children’s rights in Sweden since 1907.