Funeral Flowers Origin: How it Started
Flowers are the right approach to make someone smile. You’ll find that flowers are a popular technique to make a person smile after they have lost someone dear and close to them. The tradition of incorporating flowers in a funeral has had a long history, dating back to thousands of years. Flowers have transpired through substantial changes for funerals over the years. In this article, you will gain a historical look at the use of funeral flowers.
How Funeral Flowers Came to Be
Funeral flowers date back to 62,000 B.C deeming the tradition as the world’s oldest human ritual according to the Guinness Book of World Records. The history behind funeral flowers was discovered in 1951. Scientist, Dr. Salecki, was on an expedition when he discovered fragments of uncovered soil and flowers at a burial site. Taking soil samples, it was deemed that these pedals of flowers were the first-ever funeral flowers used.
How Flowers Were Used in Ancient Times
Giving flowers as condolences has been a funeral tradition that has been around for many years. First flowers were meant as a fragrance to cover the decaying smell of bodies, rather than as a symbol of hope. Now, since preservation methods have changed, flowers serve as a very different role than from how people use them to make people smile.
The smell of a body is not easy to be around, so flowers served as more of a way to cover the decaying smell. In order for mourners to pay their final respects, flowers saved the day. Nobody could on when the body was going to be buried or how the weather would hold up in the time of a funeral. Flowers were used for more than one reason for funerals in ancient times.
The First Documentation of this Act
How did flowers become popular for their scent at funerals? Two occurrences over the course of time have demonstrated the influence of fragrance. The grave of a neanderthal was said to be one of the first speculated documentations of funeral flowers ever tracked in history in the Shanidar Caves of Iraq. Corpses were discovered with soil and flowers sprinkled on them. The remaining pedals and soil were taken for evidence.
Another documentation recorded of funeral flowers was from the funeral of Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States. His body began to horribly decompose. The smell was so terrible, even inside a closed coffin. The undertaker had to think of something. So an array of flowers were covered all over his coffin. This worked. Nobody noticed the foul smell as the funeral went ahead and mourners came to pay their respects.
How Funeral Flowers Were Used in the Mid-West
The term ‘flower ladies’ was developed in the mid-western funeral practices. The role became as important as a pallbearer. ‘Flower Ladies’ means that six women who are close friends of the deceased carry the flowers into a flower vehicle. Then they help set up at the cemetery.
This role did not last very long overtime. Now, everyone is allowed to pay their respects, expressing their feelings with flowers. Bringing a flower to the flower arrangement embodies the relationship they had with the deceased and the family. It is also a common way to just send flowers or a hamper to the home of a close family of the deceased.
Australian Burial Laws
In The Australian Burial Laws, it is a requirement that coffins contain discharges. the fragrance is still high in demand from mourners, wanting to get rid of the smell from the corpses. Funeral flowers are sprinkled around the coffin.
How Flowers Get Rid of Decaying Smell
Flowers smell overpowers anything. The prime directive of the large funeral casket flower arrangement, in particular, originated from an early practice in which using flowers can help mask the scent of a decaying corpse. Surrounding arrangments are a part of this tradition through in many instances flowers serve more as a decoration than practical use.
The Way Flowers are Used Now
Flowers are a significant way to make people smile again. For a funeral, flowers decorate the area making those who are grieving feel happy. Putting emotions into words is tough for some people. Aside from the practical use in covering up odors like those in ancient times did, flowers serve as sentimental tokens for the bereaved and by the mourning. Thus, the process of funeral flowers began where people sent flowers to those who were grieving their loved ones.
How Funeral Flowers Were Handled in the Victorian Era
People who lived in the Victorian Era had a much different way will handling their emotions. Instead of having the funeral outside in the burial grounds, the funeral was held in funeral homes. It served as an expression of silence for emotions and also for the smell. The profound interchangeable relationship of accepting the passing of loved ones in the faith of flowers has remained as the other half of why flowers are commonly present at funerals.
Flowers Provide Comfort
Flowers create a sense of comfort for anyone feeling overwhelmed by strong emotions while attending the funeral. The prime directive of a flower is to help someone. A flower is like a friend. Death is hard to accept.
The Symbolism of Flowers at Funerals
Did you know that the meaning behind a flower at a funeral is a symbol of birth and death? Flowers are a representation of eternity, symbolizing the life of someone. They are used to commemorate life through eternity.
Flowers Create a Beautiful Final Memory
Flowers are like a secret language. Funeral flowers have had quite the history over time. Flowers express a variety of different emotions mostly to help support those through the rough grieving process. Funeral represents the life of someone who has passed, either too quickly or with acceptance. Surrounding a loved one with beautiful arrangements of flowers helps a lasting final impression of love during the funeral.