Sunday, January 17, 2010

When Does Flower Gifting Originate

By Charlene Halliway

No tradition helps in expressing human feelings in a more effective way than gifting flowers or bouquets. Flowers and bouquets have come to be used for several purposes, from wishing well to someone on the occasion of his or her birthday or anniversary to conveying an apology, or even to just cheer up someone.

Some people think that this custom began way back during ancient times with excavators discovering proof of its existence at ancient sites. History, myths and tales dating back to ancient China, Greece, Rome and Egypt show flowers to be an undeniable part of social customs. Giving flowers was thought to be the best way to convey one's thoughts in these civilizations. The ancient Greeks even considered some flowers to be related to divinity.

This custom came down to the Middle Ages, and France and England played significant roles in keeping it alive. The present tradition of assigning a specific significance to each flower was imported to the West from Turkey, from where the French and the British imbibed it and disseminated it in Europe.

The tradition of flower giving scaled new heights in the Victorian era. Demonstrating emotions verbally and publicly was not considered as good manners during the Victorian era, and therefore people made use of subtle ways to demonstrate their feelings in the form of presenting flowers or bouquets.

The general rules of gifting flowers or bouquets were laid down during this era. To take an instance, buying a bouquet of red roses from a florist and presenting to your beloved upside down would surely annoy her. This is because red roses which are mostly associated with emotions of love can convey negative emotions when they are presented to the recipient upside down. These ideas were so in fashion that in the'th century, several books on the language of flowers were written and extensively read.

This custom has come down the centuries, and now people across the world participate in the act of giving flowers to convey their feelings. Today we have reached a point where meaning is assigned to many flowers, and preset guidelines in this tradition are more significant than they ever were. Gifting red roses is still seen as a passionate demonstration of love, and white lilies are believed to symbolize purity and elegance. A single marigold flower is regarded as an expression of grief, while friendship is best exhibited by a yellow coloured rose.

Flower giving history continues to be written.There were times that a woman giving flower to a man is very inappropriate. Now it no longer registers as out of the ordinary. Virtual flowers and Internet florists provide new means to deliver virtual or real flowers anywhere in the earth. Technological and scientific advances allow for year-round blooming of each type of flower.

Science today has enabled us to grow countless varieties of flowers anywhere across the globe. Any good Singapore flower shop will offer a plethora of flower varieties that are both local and imported in nature, and are appropriate for expressing your deepest feelings in the classiest manner.

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