HISTORY IN BLOOM: EXPLORING THE TRADITION OF FLOWER GIFTS

Few plants have played as important a role in the
development of civilization as the flower. The uniquely
alluring beauty and scent of flowers have captivated the
human imagination for thousands of years, and they have
played important roles in many cultures around the world and
throughout history as a result.

Flowers are believed to have played a central part in
rituals and ceremonies dating back as far as the Paleolithic
era. Over time, the tradition of using flowers in rituals
was adopted by many of the world’s major religions. For
centuries, flowers have decorated shrines and altars all
over the world, and they also play traditional roles in the
observance of many holidays.

Today, flowers are used as a way to mark special occasions
and momentous life events, beginning with the joyful
celebration of a new birth and concluding with the solemn
observation of a funeral. The ceremonial use of flowers is a
deeply ingrained part of modern culture, but did you ever
stop to wonder when -- and how -- these traditions got
started?

Blossoming Love, Growing Traditions

Because the use of flowers as a ceremonial gesture predates
written language, historians can’t precisely pin down the
earliest origins of most of these traditions. However, many
believe that ancient wedding ceremonies likely initiated the
trend of flower gifts. Flowers have long had a symbolic
association with rebirth, innocence, fertility, and new
love, so wedding attendees would bring bouquets of flowers
to a ceremony as a way to bless the new union.

The ceremonial use of flowers to celebrate love was also
established through the celebration of the feast day of St.
Valentine and Lupercalia, the Roman precursor to Valentine’s
day.  On these special occasions, worshippers would lay
bundled bouquets of flowers at altars and shrines in order
to ensure luck in love, harmonious relationships, and
fruitful marriages during the coming year.

For centuries, flowers were associated with holiday
ceremonies, and among the nobility and upper classes, it was
common to give and receive bouquets of valuable blooms as
tokens of esteem and affection. However, it was not until
the Middle Ages that the practice of exchanging floral gifts
achieved widespread popularity.

The tide shifted with the popularization of the concept of
courtly love.  During this era, swooning over unrequited
love came to be seen as the height of manliness, and knights
across Europe lavished their beloveds with dazzling bouquets
of roses, tulips, and carnations.

The Victorian Era and Valentine’s Day

Even after the era of courtly love began to wane, the
practice of giving flowers as gifts remained fashionable,
but its popularity reached new heights during the Victorian
era. In this time, direct outward expression of emotion was
regarded as taboo, so lovesick men and women alike began to
use bouquets as a way to send secret messages to one
another. So popular were roses during this period that they
actually came to be accepted as currency in some parts of
Europe.

Today, flowers remain some of the most frequently exchanged
gifts. During the week of Valentine’s Day, for example, over
110 million bouquets are exchanged worldwide, the majority
of which are red roses.  Clearly, people around the world
have known for thousands of years that a floral gift is
always a perfect way to express yourself no matter what the
occasion.