Know
your Birth Month Flowers and its Meaning
Each month has a flower that
symbolizes the month of somebody's birth. The characteristics that the flower
has may be "inherited" by whomever is born in that certain month
person.
In a cultural sense, flower characteristics such as appearance, color, and
scent, have relevance as gifts. It is believed that it was the Romans who
started celebrating birth and birthdays using flowers. Seasonal flowers were
used not just for decoration, but also taken as gifts and therefore can
probably be credited with the tradition of birth flowers. Some have been
inspired by this tradition to create lists that associate a birthday flower
with each of the days in a year.
January- Carnation
In the north of the northern
hemisphere, January is a cold and gloomy month, but in non-frozen areas, many
flowers will bloom in the cool weather, and carnation is one of them. The
flower associated with the month is Carnation and is said to symbolize love,
fascination and distinction. Carnation, which is also commonly called
Gillyflower, is found in a number of colors from pink to red-purple.
February- Violet
This month
is associated with St. Valentine’s Day and red roses. However, the flower for
the month is Violet. The flower symbolizes faithfulness, humility and chastity.
Gifting violets in the Victorian era conveyed the message 'I’ll always be
true’. The flower is found in shades of blue, mauve as well as yellow and
cream. One must remember that an older English name for the plant is "heart
ease."
March- Daffodil
This month is synonymous with the
onset of spring (in the Northern Hemisphere). Accordingly, the flower
associated with this month is Daffodil also known as Jonquil or Narcissus. The
colours of the bloom include white, yellow and orange. A gift of these flowers
conveys the hidden meaning of friendship and happiness.
April-Sweet pea
This month is associated with Sweet
pea flower which bloom in a wide range of soft colors as well as two tone
colors. It is said to symbolize pleasure or good-bye. In the Victorian era,
these flowers formed a part of the bouquet which was sent to someone to convey
gratefulness.
May- Lily of the valley
The month of
May is associated with the Lily of the valley flower. It is generally white in
colour. The flower conveys sweetness and humility. In the Victorian era, it was
gifted to convey the romantic message ‘you have made my life complete’.
June- Rose
Rose is the
flower of this month. Though roses are available in many colors from red to
pink to white to yellow, all with their own special meanings, the underlying
message the flowers convey is that of love and passion.
July- Larkspur
Larkspur is the flower for
July. With its simple form, feelings of open heart and ardent attachment are
attributed to it.
August- Gladiolus
The flower
for this month is the Gladiolus. It blooms in a variety of colours like red,
pink, white, yellow and orange. It stands for sincerity and symbolizes strength
of character.
September- Aster
Aster or
September flower is the flower for this month. It is found in a number of
colours – pink, red, white, lilac and mauve. The name of the flower which looks
like a star is derived from the Greek word for star. The flower symbolizes
love, faith, wisdom and colour.
October- Marigold
Marigold or
Calendula is the flower associated with October. For the Hindus, the month of
October is associated with festivals like Dusshera and Diwali and Marigold,
although a relatively recent introduced flower from the New World, has come to
be an auspicious flower is part of religious ceremonies. However, in the
English culture, marigold stands for sorrow and sympathy, perhaps derivative of
its original symbolic association with death in the traditions of Mexico, as in
the Day of the Dead, parallel to the Lily in Europe.
November- Chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemum,
which stands for cheerfulness and love, is associated with the month of
November. According to Feng Shui, Chrysanthemums bring happiness and laughter
in the house.
December- Poinsettia
These flowers are typically
associated with Christmas. While considered by the ancient Aztecs to be symbols
of purity, in today's language of flowers, red, white or pink poinsettias, the
December birth flower, symbolize good cheer and success and are said to bring
wishes of mirth and celebration.
