Flowers for Wedding anniversaries
It is traditional to give flowers on wedding anniversaries and the first thought is to give roses, that will work. However if you are actually looking for the flowers that symbolise each anniversary year, roses will have to wait for 15 years.
Flowers have many meanings depending on religions and culture, and to make things a little more complicated the colours also mean different things. And beware, in different cultures and countries flowers may mean something entirely different.
And do not get fooled into thinking that the 10th wedding anniversary is the first major one. It is best to treat them all with the respect and celebration they deserve.
List Of Anniversary Flowers - with some meanings
1st. Carnations or Pansies. White Carnations are said to represent love and good luck. However in France carnations can mean bad luck, and in Spain, the red ones are the symbol of the revolution. The pansy on the other hand means 'thought' to the French.
2nd. Lily of the Valley or Cosmos. Happiness, or more specifically 'renewed happiness', and these sweet smelling flowers are indeed a lovely gift
3rd.Sunflower or Fuchsia. Optimism, a positive attitude and fun. And as they turn their heads towards the sun this sound fairly right. The red Fuchsia , good taste
4th.Hydrangea or Geranium. Another tricky one, to some it means gratitude, to others boastfulness. In Japan it can mean 'a changing heart', due to the way the flowers change colors, while in the USA it can mean devotion. The good old geranium means friendship to most.
5th.Daisy. A little more straight forward, innocence and purity
6th. Calla Lily. With Calla Lilies we have a small problem, the White Calla Lily is said by wedding planners to represent elegance, and by funeral planners, death, yes in some cultures it symbolises death.
7th. Freesia. High spirits and Joy
8th. Lilac or Clematis. Meaning depends on the colour, white represents youth and innocence, the purple, young love with a change to maturity. The clematis means ingenuity, an interesting gift.
9th.Bird of Paradise or Poppy. The Bird of Paradise is said to represent faithfulness. Poppies can mean eternal sleep, imagination, pleasure, wealth or consolation, depending on the colour.
10th.Daffodil. Renewed hope and better things to come. Technically it means self esteem and ambition
11th.Tulip. A lovers heart or perfect love, elegance and grace. The darker the flower the more it refers to passion
12th.Peony. Good fortune and happy marriage, but also secret love
13th.Chrysanthemum. Fidelity and hope, long life . However in Italy they are used at funerals
14th. Dahlia. Dignity, elegance, and a lasting bond but also betrayal
15th.Rose. Deepest love, however if they have lots of prickly thorns they can mean a betrayal or change. Also choose the color, white is for purity, pink is a bit on the flirtatious side and red is the eternal love .
20th. Aster. The Aster follows as the 20th anniversary flower, however asters are daisies, or daisies are asters.
25th. The Iris. The flame of love for the yellow ones.
30th. Lilium. A white lilium can mean purity, an orange one wealth.
40th. Gladiolus. A generous character, but also strength of character
50th. The Yellow Rose. This is the Golden Anniversary and the Yellow Rose is it. (or violets if you don't like roses)
So you can choose to buy cut flowers, although we would think the long lasting plants that can grow in the garden over many years might have better symbolism. As for what the flowers really means, you best check out religion, culture and any occultism as well.
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