Flowers and their Meanings – An Ancient Symbolism
Since times immemorial, most of the cultures of the world have imbibed on the flower symbolism. Flowers are one of those things that we find accompanying us in almost all the walks of life, be it in life – birth or marriage, graduation or illness as well as in death. Gardens adorned by lovely flowers can be found in each and every garden in each and every city in each and every country in each and every continent of the world. The different flowers and their meanings might symbolize plenty of different things and as a result, different kinds of flowers are kept for different occasions. Originally, the symbolism related to flowers began with religion in the ancient times, with many flowers being associated with a particular God or Goddess such as Venus, Jupiter, Apollo as well as Diana. Moreover, during the Renaissance period of the 15th century, people began to view nature as connected to the divine. Even in Hindu mythology, an offering to the deity is accompanied by wreaths of flowers and such other things, which brings us to the question, what does this all really signify?
In Hindu mythology, particularly, due to the presence of many God and Goddess, the different flowers and their meanings were assigned to each and every one of them and this was a very unique thing and for people of the western culture, it still is a very unique thing. Moreover, during the Victorian period of the English Literature, aside from the religious meaning of the flowers, the meanings of the different flowers pertaining to the different emotions and feelings also came to be expressed and as a result, a whole new concept started to come up at that time. During those times, the protocols were very strict and as a result, it was not easy for people express themselves or their feelings to each other, particularly between a man and a woman and as a result, people used to resort to the help of flowers and give a flower that expressed their feeling and their mood to different people, and more importantly, between lovers. Here is a list that expresses the names of different flowers and their meanings:
Amaryllis means dramatic, apple blossom means a promise, azalea means available in abundance, bachelor button means anticipation, black eyed Susan means encouragement, oink means gratitude, red means flashy, white means remembrance, striped means refusal, bronze means excitement, cosmos means peaceful, daisy means innocence, ginger means proud etc. These are some of the flowers and their meanings that have been prevalent since times immemorial and as soon as it started getting complex, more and more books came to be written about the symbolism and meaning associated with each and every flower, particularly in England during the Victorian age. With time, the flower symbolism has developed and modern flower symbolisms have evolved and become even more complex. However, the charm that it still holds when a lover gifts his or her beloved a flower is still as touching as it ever was.
