From our Floral Lead- Denise Roberts

Across the world, we can see that flowers play a pivotal role in spiritual rituals and ceremonies. They mark life’s most significant moments from birth to death, including celebrations and festivals. 
We only have to think about the flowers seen in our own church during weddings to recognise how important a role they play in the whole celebration; even down to the carefully chosen bridal bouquets, button holes and corsages. In years gone by they were not meant to be mere decorations but to have a deeper meaning, their beauty and fragrance also evoking reverence. In Hindu weddings, garlands of flowers are exchanged to symbolize unity and blessings for the couple’s future. In Christian funerals flowers often adorn the coffin, offering sympathy, comfort and a reminder of eternal life.
These rituals show how flowers transcend language and culture. They offer their own language when words alone are not enough. Many spiritual traditions view them as gifts from the divine, where each bloom carries its own unique message. 
In Hinduism, marigolds are placed on altars during Diwali and symbolize devotion and prosperity. In Hindu puja, jasmine garlands honour deities, their scent believed to attract divine presence. In Buddhism, the lotus is a cornerstone; its journey from murky depths to beautiful bloom mirroring the path from the muddy waters of the material world to nirvana. Buddhist monks scatter petals in meditation, each falling bloom a reminder of impermanence. In Christianity the white lily is a symbol of the Virgin Mary’s purity and also of Christ’s resurrection and promise of eternal life. Easter daffodils represent hope and new beginnings; and lily-of-the-valley represent Mary’s tears at the foot of Jesus’ cross. In Mexican Día de los Muertos marigolds, with their vivid golden hues,guide ancestral spirits home, a beacon across realms. 
In many pagan and nature-based spiritual practices, flowers are seen as manifestations of the earth’s sacred energy. Reminders of the cycles of life: creation, growth, and decay;mirroring our own life’s journey.
The spiritual language of flowers is believed by many to be a sacred message, a bridge between the natural and the divine, which invites us to pause and take time to reflect on what messages the flowers impart.
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The beautiful white lily is synonymous with Easter; and is often called the ‘Easter lily’ having become a symbol of Christ’s Resurrection. However, the flower, also known as the Madonna Lily, represents the Annunciation as well. 
According to legend the lily sprang from the tears of Eve when she was expelled from the Garden of Eden. However, the lily was yellow in colour until it turned white when picked by the Virgin Mary, symbolising the restoration of innocence to the world which had been lost by Eve. 
In the 7th century, the Venerable Bede likened Mary to a white lily, the white petals symbolizing her pure body and the golden anthers the radiance of her soul. A symbol of Mary’s purity and innocence. The lily was also reputed to have the power of healing, just as Mary was to bring into the world the cure for its sins. 
By the 14th century it was common to see the lily appearing in annunciation paintings, placed in a vase between the Angel Gabriel and the young Mary. During the Renaissance period, paintings showed the Angel Gabriel holding a spray of lilies; both forms symbolising Mary’s purity and innocence. 
The flower’s association with Easter grew from another legend; according to which it is said that some white lilies were found growing in the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus went to pray the night before His Crucifixion. Apparently, the flowers sprang up where drops of Christ's sweat fell like blood as he prayed. 
Since the early 20th century white lilies have been used to decorate churches at Easter, and became a popular inclusion in paintings of the resurrection. 
The lifeless bulb buried in the ground represents the tomb of Christ; from the cold earth new life grows, recalling Christ rising from the dead. Like Christ, the Easter lily is reborn to live again symbolizing new life emerging from death and suffering. 
The white trumpet-like flower symbolizes Jesus’ life after death. Its pure white colour represents the purity of Christ, the gold represents his Kingship, while the trumpet shape signifies Gabriel's trumpet call to rebirth and new life. 
Throughout Christian history, the lily has been used in religious ceremonies, including funerals, weddings, and baptisms; and can be found in altar pieces, religious artwork, including sculptures, paintings, iconography and stained-glass windows. Take a look at the stained-glass windows in St. John’s and see if you can spot some lilies; some of which appear stylised, but there is one window in which you can clearly see lilies growing (with roses and lily of the valley too – two other flowers associated with the Virgin Mary).

The name “passion flower” was given to the plant in the sixteenth century by Roman Catholic missionaries in South America, where the flower grew naturally. They noted how the flowers had particular physical features that aligned with the crucifixion. They saw it as a gift of God to help them in their work of teaching the Indians to understand the Passion of Christ and the Crucifixion and used it as a teaching aid. 
When the passion flower was brought back by them to the New World ‘the Passion of Christ’ reference stuck and the flower grew in popularity.

The Passion flower (Latin name Passiflora) belongs to a family of climbing plants of which there are numerous varieties; but the one referred to here is the common blue passion flower, although its colour may also be described as a purple/blue hue – reminiscent of the liturgical colour of Lent. Many of you may have one growing in your garden. If so, look closely at it when it flowers and see if you can identify the following symbols: 
1. The five petals and five sepals (the outer parts of the flower that enclose the flower before it blooms) together represent ten of the twelve disciples who didn’t betray or deny Jesus (as Judas and Peter had done). 
2. The three topmost stigmas (part of the plant that rises from the top of the flower and receives pollen and initiates fertilization), each with a roughly rounded head, recall the three nails that impaled Christ on the cross. 
3. The five stamen that hold the anthers (the parts of the flower where pollen is produced) together signify the five wounds (hands, feet and side) of Christ. 
4. The anthers alone represent the sponge used to moisten Jesus’ lips. 
5. The central column of the three stigmas and five anthers signify both the post on which Jesus was whipped and the cross on which he was hung; and the many slender tendrils surrounding its base are likened to the cords and whips used in the scourging. 
6. The radial corona filaments (the base of the central column holding the stigma) represent the crown of thorns. The word “corona” is actually defined as being like a crown, or in the shape of a crown of thorns. 
7. The red stain of the corona is a reminder of his blood that was shed. 
8. The leaves of the passion flower are shaped like a lance to represent the spear that pierced his side. 
9. The fruit is round and signifies the world that Jesus came to save and was crucified for. 
10. The tendrils that support the stems as they grow symbolize Jesus holding on to God’s purpose and being supported by God’s love. 
11. The fragrance of the flower represents the spices that the women brought with them to the tomb. 
12. The duration of the flower’s life is three days – the time elapsed from crucifixion to resurrection. 
Europeans soon discovered the medicinal value of the passion flower and its fruit and took up its use, especially for calming the nerves, which is thought to be yet another symbolic aspect: Like Christ who came to relieve the sufferings and anxieties of man, so this plant relieves the pains and sufferings of those who take advantage of the properties imbued in it. 
Some tenuous links maybe, but I will never look at the passion flower in the same light again without thinking of the Passion of Christ.

​The Advent wreath is said to have originated in Germany in the sixteenth century. However, the forerunner of the wreath, as we recognise it today, was invented in 1839 by a Lutheran pastor who worked with the poor in Hamburg, Germany. 
Children at the mission school he worked in would ask, each day of Advent, if it was nearly Christmas; prompting the pastor to decorate a large cartwheel with twenty-four small red candles and four large white ones. He lit one red candle on each successive day from Monday to Saturday, and one white candle on each successive Sunday during the period of advent; helping the children to see for themselves when Christmas was approaching.
The custom grew amongst Protestant churches in Germany, and gradually a smaller wreath with five candles evolved. It took almost another hundred years for the custom to spread to the Roman Catholic church and the wider world.
The circular wreath symbolises the infinite, unending love of God. Wreaths are mainly made of evergreen foliage which represents the hope of eternal life brought by Jesus Christ. The four candles (still traditionally red in most UK churches, but can be violet and rose to correspond with the liturgical colours) represent the four weeks of Advent, and symbolise the light of God coming into the world by the birth of Jesus. However, each candle specifically symbolises hope, peace, joy and love, as each is lit throughout the four weeks of Advent. 
A fifth white candle known as the ‘Christ candle’ symbolises the arrival of Christmastide and is first lit on Christmas Eve, the beginning of Christmastide, and may be lit throughout the Christmas season as well as during Epiphanytide.