LILY: A REMARKABLE FLOWER BURSTING WITH SYMBOLISM
If there's one flower that’s bursting with symbolism, it's the lily. Amiability, purity, love, fertility, femininity, unity and transience; it represents all of them.
FEMININITY
It's the shape, the variety of colours, and the sweet scent in particular that make the lily the ideal symbol of femininity. That meaning dates back many centuries to ancient Egypt. Greek and Roman brides were often given a crown of lilies in the hope of a pure and fruitful life.
LOVE
It was really 'not done' to express emotions in the uptight Victorian era. But then how could people tell one another how they felt? A secret language was found to be the solution. By giving every flower a particular meaning, they created the language of flowers: floriography. The Romans used lilies to fill pillows and quilts because of its lovely scent. Lilies thereby became the source of the fragrance of love. If a lady was given this sweet-scented flower, she knew: 'This is my lover'.
PURITY
You've probably noticed that white lilies are often used at weddings. The reason for this is that - in Christianity at least - white lilies symbolise virginity and purity. The white lily is therefore also known as the Madonna lily. And you may also have noticed that the lily is often depicted as a religious symbol in conjunction with the Virgin Mary.
TRANSIENCE
Flowers are not just a good way of expressing emotions when we are happy and cheerful. Flowers also enable us to say things without words at times of loss and mourning. Lilies are often used at funerals; the serene, pure look of the flower is very much in keeping with such occasions.
WHITE ROSE
Sometimes called "the flower of light", one of the meanings of white roses is everlasting love - love stronger than death, an eternal love, undying and all sustaining. White rose speaks of a love that is sustained more by loyalty, reverence and humility than by red-blooded passion. So, in its capacity to worship someone till death, the meaning of a white rose is unchanging loyalty that endures beyond all else.
The white bouquet has been a tradition since Queen Victoria's wedding in l840. It was in this romantic era that gentlemen started sending flowers to their lady friends to denote special meanings. The white rose is the queen of the bridal bouquet.
Here, the meaning of a white rose is something different altogether. A virgin carrying the white roses seeks to assure her loved one of her purity and innocence. Untarnished and untainted - the white rose is the bride on her wedding day. In the "language of the flowers" the meaning of white roses is "I am worthy of you". The meaning of the white rose will not be lost on a groom when he sees his bride's eyes filled with unchanging love and loyalty, a promise to stand by him through all.
A white rosebud seeks to convey a different shade of meaning. It speaks of youthful ignorance, and innocence. "I am too young to be loved", the white rosebud proudly proclaims to the world. Girlhood, immature in the ways of the world, an age that is as pure and fresh as spring, are what the white rosebud denotes. Beauty, youth and a heart innocent of love are some of the meanings of a white rose bud.
The most famous meanings of the white rose arise from mythology. Many of these surround Aphrodite (Venus) as Goddess of love. She sprang forth into life from the foaming sea, and where the foam fell to the ground, white roses grew.
This and later myths about Aphrodite display the dual nature of love: purity and innocence represented by white roses; desire and sexual gratification by red ones. In one story she runs to help her wounded lover Adonis and catches her flesh on the thorns of the white rose bush. Her blood falling on the bush turns the roses red, symbolizing the way innocence and purity change to experience and motherhood.
WHITE ORCHID
White orchids are rich with symbolic meaning. From the Aztecs and Ancient Greeks to Victorians, white orchids have been more than just pleasing decorations. Their shape led some cultures to associate them with virility while others associated the flowers with beauty and refinement.
More than 25,000 species of orchids have been identified. Many of these exotic blooms come in white varieties. Angraecum orchids, which have an unusual star shape, primarily are white. Other white orchids have a touch of other colors. These orchids sometimes are referred to as pansy orchids because their coloring resembles that of pansies. Regardless of the type of white orchid, the meanings associated with the flowers remains the same.
Ancient Greeks associated the flowers with virility, and Greek women fed large tubers to their husbands to produce male children. In ancient China, Confucius compared virtuous people to the orchid because both shared the characteristics of a perfectly cultured being, including refinement and humility.
White orchids primarily grow in tropical areas and the Far East. This meant transporting them to Europe was costly -- particularly during the 19th century. As a result, only wealthy people could afford to purchase them during the Victorian era. This economic reality led to orchids being associated with wealth, luxury and refinement as well as exotic and rare beauty. The Victorians were not the only privileged people to treasure the flower; the royalty of ancient Japan also considered them symbolic of wealth.
Although white orchids no longer are associated with virility and are not a decoration only for the wealthy, they have not lost symbolic significance. Today, white orchids represent a number of things, including hope. White orchids also represent innocence and purity because of their color.
.. I think
