On April 14th, Jewish and Catholic families will be gathering for the Passover holiday and Easter feast. The Passover gala celebration is to honor the Hebrews being freed from slavery from the Egyptians. During the Passover holiday, a common gift exchanged by people are flowers.
But why flowers? Why do we buy flowers for the Passover?
There may be several reasons. Because the Passover holiday is celebrated in the spring when flowers are blooming, it was an easy gift for people to give in ancient times as all they had to do was go out into the fields and pick the flowers. The flowers were a way to celebrate their festivals and excitement of rekindling the spirit.
The traditional Passover, Pesach, holiday is celebrated with a Seder meal shared with families and friends. People would decorate their homes with all the flowers by placing them in clay pots, putting them as a centerpiece on the Seder table, hang them on doors and adorn the room with wicker baskets holding spring flowers.
This tradition is continued today as people buy flowers to decorate the feast table, their homes and their loved ones. The types of flowers given during Passover are usually ones that only bloom in the spring. People give an assortment bouquet that includes the traditional lily representing spirituality. Other flowers include carnations, tulips, daffodils, daisies, pussy willows, irises and hyacinths. Yet today, just about any brightly colored and fragrant flower will do including sunflowers, roses, violets, and orchids.
Buying flowers for the Passover holiday makes a wonderful gift to guests who visit your home. You can give garlands of flowers to children. Adult guests can be given corsages and boutonnieres to wear during religious ceremonies. Your guests can also take home a vase full of flowers to commemorate the holiday.
Perhaps another reason to buy flowers on Passover is to make people smile. Giving someone a flower shows just how much you care, as it can bring happiness to everyone at the table to brighten the mood of your Passover celebration.
