rose festival (rozfes"tival)

A festival celebrated on June 8, which had its origin at the village of Salency, near Noyon, in France. A girl is selected from three most distinguished for feminine virtues, her name being announced from the pulpit to give an opportunity for objections. She is then conducted to church, where she hears service in a place of honor, after which she formerly used to open a ball with the seigneur. She is called La Rosière, because she is adorned with roses held together by a silver clasp presented by Louis XIII. The festival has been imitated at other places in France, at many of which the rosière receives a purse or a dower from a foundation established for the purpose.