The Development Of Flower Gifting

Posted by | Posted on 2:26 AM

By Charlene Halliway

Down the ages, human feelings have found great expressions through the custom of gifting flowers or bouquets. People often step into a florist shop to buy flowers for all occasions like birthdays, anniversaries, to congratulate someone, to apologize, or just to lift one's drooping spirits.

Some people believe that this custom started way back during prehistoric times with archaeologists finding proof of its existence at ancient sites. History, legends and folklore going back to ancient China, Greece, Rome and Egypt show flowers to be an undeniable part of social practices. In these cultures, it was believed that emotions could find their most suitable expression through the giving of flowers. Greek mythology is filled with identification of certain flowers that were believed to be representations of gods and goddesses.

This tradition passed on to the Middle Ages, and France and England played important roles in keeping it alive. The modern tradition of assigning a meaning to each flower is believed to have been imported to Europe after the French and the British witnessed it in Turkey.

The Victorian era spread this custom of flower gifting even further. Exhibiting emotions verbally and publicly was not considered as good manners during the Victorian period, and therefore people made use of subtle means to express their feelings in the form of gifting flowers or bouquets.

The Victorians came up with a lot of rules for gifting flowers or bouquets and implemented them with great ardour. For instance, a bouquet of red roses bought from a florist would generate a rather unfavourable reaction form your beloved if you presented it to her upside down. Red roses, that otherwise symbolize love, can depict anger if presented upside down. These rules were so in fashion that in the'th century, several books on the language of flowers were written and extensively read.

This tradition continues even today, where people give flowers to others to express their sentiments. In the present age, the custom of giving flowers or bouquets is rich in different meanings, and guidelines concerning the decorum of the act have acquired tremendous importance. A beautifully presented bouquet of red roses is believed to depict love while lilies symbolize purity and grace. A yellow coloured rose is believed to be a representation of friendship, while grief is best demonstrated by a lone marigold.

The history of gifting flower continues as time goes by. In some countries, it might have once seemed inappropriate for a woman to give flowers to a man. Today, it is very ordinary. Virtual flowers and Internet florists allow new means to deliver virtual or true flowers anywhere in the earth. Through development of science and technology, flowers can now easily bloom all year-round.

Science today has enabled us to grow all kinds of flowers anywhere in the world. If you are located in Singapore, then a visit to a Singapore flower shop will surely provide you with the best quality flowers, both local as well as imported varieties, guaranteed to express your emotions to your loved ones in an elegant manner.

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