Spring and Sprung, Bouquets on the Run

Flowers are mother nature's little accessories, at least that's how I like to think of them. They’re a beautiful part of the world around us that we can gather to show appreciation for a loved one, even grief. In France, you might notice little patterns of what flowers are being gifted during specific moments. Although there are so many flowers with many secret meanings, we will only be looking at two distinctly different flowers. 

Lilies:

Long before anyone worried about showing up with the “wrong bouquet” to a dinner party, Flowers was already associated with the French with ideas of power and holiness. The most infamous example isn’t even a real bouquet of these flowers, but a stylized one with a more known name of: the Fleur-de-lis, the representation of the french monarchy.
Kings like Louis VI and Louis VII adopted the fleur-de-lis as a crest almost on any surface they could possibly add it to. It had become the symbol of the french crown. 

The significance of the lily stems from a legend from the 5th century that states the first king of France, Clovis I, was given a lily at his baptism. This legend skyrocketed the flower's status into a sign of divine connection and royalty. 

The language of Flowers, when did bouquets become messages? 

One of the earliest printed guides of the meaning of flowers was a printed list written by Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall’s Dictionnaire du langage des fleurs (1809). This book followed by the hugely popular French book Le langage des fleurs (1819) published under the pen name Madame Charlotte de la Tour (Louise Cortambert), assigned codified meanings to roses, violets, lilies and many other flowers. 

This was now called Floriography. In the 1700s and 1800s, people lived in an ultra reserved society with super strict social rules. Good manners meant flirting, and expressing your feelings overtly was frowned upon. A big social faux pas. So, the idea of sending a secret message through flowers became very appealing. By the mid-19th century, exchanging flowers the way we exchange texts today~

If Lilies love luck and royalty, what is a chrysanthemum?

On the 1st of May, 1560, King Charles IX received a bunch of lilies of the valley as a lucky charm. Delighted, he decided to give the flower to every lady of his court each May 1, and the gesture slowly spread. By the early 20th century, men commonly offered muguet to women they admired. The tradition later merged with International Workers’ Day: May 1 became a public holiday in 1890 to honor labor struggles, and in 1948 it was officially named La Fête du Travail. 

November 1st is Toussaint, which belongs to the chrysanthemum. For weeks beforehand, pavements outside florists and supermarkets fill with pots of them. But in France, you don’t give chrysanthemums to a host or a lover. They are associated with death. This association is relatively recent and deeply tied to World War I. In 1919, for the first Armistice Day (11 November), President Raymond Poincaré ordered that all graves in France be decorated with flowers to honor those who died during their service. However, since very few flowers bloom naturally in November, the chrysanthemum became the practical and symbolic choice.

Modern etiquette:

All of this history filters down into very concrete rules for contemporary flower-giving in France. Just a few more overviews that are still very popular to this day:

• Never give chrysanthemums as a gift; they are reserved for cemeteries and Toussaint.
  
  
  
• Red carnations traditionally suggest ill will or bad luck and are avoided as presents.
  
  
  
• Red roses are explicitly romantic—only for someone you are in love with.
  
  
  
• Bouquets should contain an odd number of stems (but not 13): 7 or 11 roses, not an American-style dozen. 
  

Now when you make a bouquet, think about how you’re speaking a language that has been passed down through generations of kings, gardeners, soldiers and lovers.