Valentine Flowers
Have you ever heard of the language of flowers and herbs? Yes, you heard me correctly, flowers and herbs have a language of their own and that evolved from the symbolic meanings people in many parts of the world attributed to them all through the ages.
Flowers were used as offerings to the gods and people of stature were crowned with wreaths woven out of blossoms and leaves in ancient Greece. The concept of a language of flowers made its way into France and England during the eighteenth century from the Turkish Empire via French and English travelers, sailors and trades people. The newly received and well embraced language of flowers led to the birth of a wide variety of books and dictionaries on florigraphy which is the science of sweet things. These volumes contained elaborate drawings of flowers and their linguistic and symbolic meanings as well as the meanings of floral arrangements, compositions and combinations. For instance, a marigold symbolizes grief but when a marigold is combined with a rose the two together then symbolized the bittersweet and welcomed pains of love.
As all languages require grammatical rules, so does the language of flowers and thus a set of grammar rules of florigraphy was compiled in a book called “The Language of Flowers” but there were also many others. However, since there was no global and authoritative body to oversee the development of the language of flowers, each beautifully compiled book seemed to ascribe different meanings to flowers and the rules of grammar varied greatly because, in fact, each culture and ethnicity had its own versions. Thus the only consistency was the importance of flowers in human lives throughout the world, especially when it came to love and romance.
As long as both the giver and the receiver of flowers agreed on their meanings, flowers have always been and still are a beautiful way of expressing feelings of love, great desire, hot passion and the pledging of an everlasting commitment. The act of giving flowers actually dates back to ancient times and this fact is mentions in many Egyptian inscriptions, in Chinese writings, in the Greek and Roman Mythologies as well as in the Bible. In fact, the word “floral” derives from the Roman Goddess Flora who was the Goddess of flowers, youth and spring.
The custom of giving flowers on specific occasions took a long while to develop but it thrived during The Middle Ages when the rigid restriction on courtship were closely guarded and communicating with flowers was the only means allowed between young men and women.
All other customs, symbolic and linguistic meanings aside, we all know that in this modern day and age and in the United States flowers, most particularly red roses, and Saint Valentine’s Day go hand in hand. You could go down to your nearest neighborhood flower shop to join a long line of shoppers just like you and wait for your turn to select the perfect red rose or a whole bouquet of red roses for your loved one. However, you could also shop from the comfort of your own home via the Internet and its countless websites that are within a quick click of a button. To help you out, I have found a few great websites that you might want to visit before making your final decision:
- http://ww32.1800flowers.com/dataset.do?dataset=10803. They have a tremendous variety of every imaginable flower and arrangements; they are nationwide and deliver to any destination.
- http://www.florawish.com/?srccode=11g_gne_valentine&gclid=CKacoN3xqpECFQfNiQodBhPwYg. Here you will find astoundingly beautiful arrangements for reasonable prices and they deliver anywhere within the United States.
- http://www.proflowers.com/valentines-day-vdf. Surprisingly enough, when most flower retailers increase their prices for Saint Valentine’s Day flowers, they reduce theirs and their selection is unbelievable.
So if you have not yet spoken to your loved one in the language of flowers before, do so this upcoming Saint Valentine’s Day.
Posted in Gift Ideas
content rss