When attending a religious event or cultural celebration, you will often see symbolic flowers of a specific color or type. The significance of blooms varies from event to event, celebration to celebration, but knowing which flowers hold a special meaning or relate perfectly to an event’s purpose is essential. When selecting the best bouquet or arrangement for a celebration, the experts here at Flora D’ Amore are happy to help guide you in the right direction. To get started, take a look at a few common religious and cultural events and a few of our flower suggestions.
What Are Symbolic Flowers for Baptisms?
In the Catholic or Christian religion, it is believed that everyone is born with original sin. As an infant or child is welcomed into the church, baptism or a christening washes away this original sin. If you are one of the close family members or friends who are invited as witnesses or to celebrate, you may notice a few specific flowers, like lilies, roses, carnations, baby’s breath, orchids, hydrangeas, gladioli, calla lilies, and pink or blue blooms. These blooms, especially white blooms, symbolize innocence, a clean slate, holiness, purity, virtue, and the Virgin Mother Mary and can be displayed on the altar during the ceremony and as centerpieces during the party.
What Are Traditional Flowers for Quinceañeras?
A girl’s 15th birthday, in Hispanic and Latin American cultures, is a significant milestone as it represents a young woman’s transition into adulthood. Known as a Quinceañera, this birthday party is an elaborate celebration with a formal party complete with family and friends, dancing, catering, ball gowns, tiaras, and flowers. From centerpieces and floral decor to the young woman’s Quinceañera bouquet, symbolic stems include roses, sunflowers, tulips, daisies, gerbera daisies, and other delicate, natural blooms with soft or pastel-colored petals. Before the party, a thanksgiving mass is held and the young woman presents her floral bouquet to the Virgin Mother Mary. It is also common for the young woman’s grandparents to give her 15 red roses to symbolize strength and sweetness.
What Flowers Are Associated with Bat Mitzvahs?
Bat Mitzvahs are also seen as a young woman’s right of passage into adulthood. However, unlike a Quinceañera, Bat Mitzvah’s are also when a young woman affirms her identity within the Jewish religion. After a ceremony at the Temple, family and friends gather for a large party with food, music, dancing, and fun. A crucial part of holding a Bat Mitzvah is for the young woman to express her identity through the theme of her party. Whether her theme mirrors a favorite hobby, passion, or simply a color, the flowers chosen should also match her identity, personality, and preferences. Although every Bat Mitzvah party is different, a few popular flowers are roses to represent beauty, sunflowers to symbolize happiness, sunshine, and optimism, ranunculus, as they are linked to charm and radiance, peonies to bring good luck, honor, and femininity, and gerbera daisies, as they signify purity, innocence, and beauty.
What Flowers are Linked with Bar Mitzvahs?
Bat Mitzvahs and Bar Mitzvahs are the same traditional Jewish event, except Bar Mitzvahs honor young men and their identity within the Jewish religion. Having the same symbolic traditions as Bat Mitzvahs, the same guidelines apply to Bar Mitzvahs when choosing a party theme and flowers. It is common to see more masculine blooms, like white flowers, succulents, green blooms, and other stems that fit with the theme. For instance, a basketball theme might call for birds of paradise as these tropical orange blooms signify freedom, success, and excellence. No matter which flowers, plants, and decor are selected, final decisions should always be made with the young man’s input and preferences.
What Are Significant Flowers to Celebrate First Holy Communions?
When a child receives their First Holy Communion in the Catholic or Christian religion, they eat the bread and drink the wine of Christ. This representation of Jesus’ sacrifices and the covenant given to God by his followers is celebrated with a Sunday mass followed by a party. Flowers in the form of centerpieces, decor, and bouquets as a gift to the child are truly symbolic. White lilies, specifically Madonna Lilies, are symbols of the Blessed Mother Mary and purity. Baby’s breath represent everlasting love, much like God’s eternal love. Pink roses mean grace, peach roses signify modesty, honeysuckle symbolizes devotion, and daisies represent innocence.
Planning and celebrating a big religious or cultural event means picking out the perfect, symbolic flowers to reflect the significance of the celebration. From floral decor and bouquets to centerpieces and congratulatory stems, there is always a way to commemorate special moments with blooms from Flora D’ Amore.
