Wholesale flowers

Valentine’s Day: A History

Saint Valentine’s Day, commonly known as Valentine’s Day  is observed on February 14 each year. It is celebrated in many countries around the world, although it remains a working day in most of them. It is the second most celebrated holiday around the world second to New Year’s Day.

St. Valentine’s Day began as a celebration of one or more early Christian saints. The most popular story associated with Saint Valentine was that he was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry and for ministering to Christians, who were persecuted under the Roman Empire; during his imprisonment, he is said to have healed the daughter of his jailer. Legend states that before his execution he wrote “from your Valentine” as a farewell to her. Today, Saint Valentine’s Day is an official feast day in the Anglican Communion as well as in the Lutheran Church.

The day was first associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. By the 15th century, it had evolved into an occasion in which lovers expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers and sending greeting cards.

The history of giving your loved one Valentine’s Day flowers comes from the old-fashioned custom of sending floral bouquets to pass on non-verbal messages. Introduced in the 18th century, each flower had a specific meaning attached to it, making it possible to have an entire conversation using only flowers. Today, people continue to send flowers on special occasions or to express sentiments of love and admiration.

See our Tipton Hurst exclusive Valentine’s Day collection here and send flowers to your loved one this Valentine’s Day.

 

 

Grandparents Day is coming up, don’t forget the flowers!

Foreget-me-not flowers
Forget-me-not flowers. Photograph taken at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, France by David Monniaux. (Wikimedia Commons)

Did you know that the first Sunday after Labor Day is National Grandparents Day? It’s a day set aside to honor our grandparents and appreciate all they have done for us. This year is it September 9.

Grandparents Day was officially recognized as a US holiday in 1978 by President Jimmy Carter. A tenacious woman by the name of Marian McQuade was the driving force behind the official recognition of our elders. She wanted to “champion the cause of lonely elderly in nursing homes” as well as “persuade grandchildren to tap the wisdom and heritage their grandparents could provide.”

The official flower of Grandparents Day is the forget-me-not but when it comes to showing Grandma and Grandpa how much you love them, most any flower will do. Here are some ideas for incorporating flowers into your Grandparents Day celebrations.

  • Order an arrangement for their home. If they live in a retirement center, be sure to check with the staff about any restrictions regarding flowers.
  • Give Granny a corsage and Papaw a boutineer that they can wear to church.
  • If your grandparents have already passed on, this is a perfect time to honor their memory by visiting their graves and leaving some flowers.
  • Donate a flower arrangement to your grandparents’ church in their honor or memory.
  • Ask your grandmother what her favorite flower is and surprise her with a corsage or arrangement featuring that flower when you take her to lunch.
  • Volunteer at a nursing home and give a rose to each of the residents.

Got any more ideas? leave them in the comments!