|
Easter Flowers
Happy Easter!
It’s that time of year when people all over the world celebrate and remember a religious event, and what better way to do it than with flowers?
Lilies, tulips, daffodils, daisies, carnations, roses, hyacinths and pussy willows are perfect for most occasions, but during Easter festivities, in particular, they symbolise so much more than at any other time.
The main Easter flower is the lily. A white lily is symbolic of purity and hope. It’s single stem arising from a bulb represents Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead.
In true Christian tradition, worshippers gather at churches and homes to celebrate their belief that Jesus died on the cross to save them from sin and grant them eternal life. Even more than this, they give thanks that three days later He rose again.
Floral displays are used to decorate the home, which freshen and add colour to the house in preparation for Easter Sunday lunch. Vases containing a large variety of fresh, colourful blooms, mostly of the long stemmed variety, are spread around the house. Large and small petals are arranged together; common varieties find their place amongst wild; delicate is mixed with bold – a lavishly colourful representation of new life, beginnings, joy and hope.
Choices are made about which arrangements are best to place at the table, set for a celebratory feast: large, bright and colourful; or natural, elegant, simple, pure and white?
Easter Sunday falls on the first Sunday following the first full moon after 21 March, and it must not be forgotten that although the weekend’s actual dates of the year do shift around a bit, it is around this time, in the Northern Hemisphere, that the winter season is ending and spring beginning. This is opposite in the Southern Hemisphere, where many will be looking forward to the relief of cooler autumn days leading up to winter, after summer, and these factors may influence the choice of which kinds and colours of flowers to display in the home at Easter.
The country in which you live also plays an important role in deciding how to incorporate fresh colour into your interior décor, or at the table, during celebrations. It can depend on the availability of stock at florists and nurseries in the area, and also on the country’s interpretations of petal colour. In Germany, red blooms represent the blood that Jesus spilt when He was crucified.
Most choose the lily as best representative of the event, as besides the symbolic meaning of the single stem rising from the bulb, the bulb also representing the tomb from which Jesus rose, it is said that lilies blossomed at the crucifixion site where drops of Jesus’ blood fell.
It is best to buy lilies in pots a few days before Easter weekend, and choose ones that have buds that are not yet quite open, so as to enjoy their full glory on the actual occasion.
So, between decorating bonnets with pussy willow twigs, munching chocolate eggs, and attending church, don’t forget your Easter flowers!
| .jpg)
