I was to a bike rally today (in Germany) for better road infrastructure.

A few different people there had put flowers on their bikes, attached to the handlebars. I think it looks quite nice, and thinking about it I have seen it in photos from the Netherlands. And maybe in the 80ies in my hometown Cologne, which is not that far from The Netherlands.

Now I am curious… Where does this tradition come from? Did it have a specific cause? Did it appear at a specific point in Dutch history? Just a kind of ornament, or something with deeper meaning?

Anybody knows more?