Without a doubt, one of the most challenging mysteries in life comes from dealing with loss. Losing someone hurts; it takes a lot out of us to lose someone who means a lot to us. When this happens, most people will choose to look for an adequate commemoration for the person who has passed away. Many times, that is flowers.
It’s easy to find someone who has little to no interest in getting why flowers are provided. ‘What’s the point? They’re no longer here anyway!’ is a common (awful) opinion that is regularly heard about the usage of flowers to commemorate the dead.
Part of this stems from All Souls Day. This is a Christian holiday that looks to partake in a commemoration of all the faithful departed who have left this world. It’s a day that is used to help remember those who we have lost, and those who we have loved. Usually held on the 2nd November, this is an experience that tends to put those who do not “get” the idea of flowers at unease.
If you have a day to commemorate people, why do you need a flower to do it as well?
Total disregard for sensitivity and personal choice aside, there are many suitable and totally fair reasons for why we look to use flowers for the dead. Let’s look at why we choose to do this; and why it isn’t quite so silly as some ‘experts’ claim.
Appreciating the Power of Respect
One of the main reasons that we offer flowers to the dead is as a means of showing support and strength to those who have lost. It shows a love and a reverence for the person who has passed. Flowers and plants are a regular sight when we want to show remembrance for someone who has left this world. It adds a touch of beauty to send them to the afterlife and can add a hint of color into what tends to be a rightfully somber atmosphere.
We offer flowers to the dead because it shows the person who has passed on that we cared for them in life and will remember them in death. It also serves as a pillar of strength and unity for the closest family to the deceased; to let them see that others care.
The rich color and beauty of flowers can feel at odds with the pain and bleakness of death. This is wrong way to look at it, though; instead, look at this as a form of respecting what has already happened. You are adding a touch of color to the person’s death in the way that they helped to add color and light to your world.
We use this flower ceremony to help add a sense of respect and reverence to someone who is no longer with us.
A Show of Strength
Another reason why we show flowers to the dead is a sign of strength for those who are struggling most with the pain of death. There is always enough pain to go around at a funeral, so you can use the brightness and beauty of the flower to add a touch of positive energy into a room where many people will be feeling a distinct loss of hope.
This can help people to heal more quickly from the loss, albeit in the most minor manner. It helps to offer a sympathetic tone, too; making sure that those closest to the deceased know that people cared for the person who has passed on and that they will be remembered accordingly.
While it might not seem quite “right” to some, these people do not matter. What does matter is that everyone who is interested in taking part can do so with ease. It’s an honorable, muted way to add a touch of positivity in a room full of negativity and to help show a show of strength, unity and togetherness to help make sure that people can begin to find the strength that they need to move on and accept what happened.
Life is Eternal
Lastly, the main reason that people tend to use flowers for the dead is because flowers are eternal. While they die off the same way as we do, flowers are showing that the person themselves will live on forever – even if only in heart and soul. It’s a symbolic gesture more than anything more specific and is sure to give you all the help that you need to show a display of courage and to make a symbolic message that stands out.
Making people feel better at a funeral can be an exercise in futility; what you should look to do instead is to showcase the symbolism of eternal existence. This shows that we all return to ashes one day, and that we can then live through the unique beauty and mastery of flowers and floral arrangements.
They help to show that we loved the person and it can then be preserved as a form of symbolism for the person who has passed. Through these commemorations, we can make sure that nobody must be forgotten.
While dealing with the pain and tragedy of death is very hard indeed, it’s not impossible to overcome. It’s something that, as time goes on, we can easily begin to grow to understand and appreciate. If you are willing to take the time to do this, then you can easily utilize the power of solidarity with those who have lost something.
Life is all about being able to celebrate the time we have here. In death, we use flowers and the brightness of nature and of living to make sure that people can begin to grow more comfortable with who they are time and time again.
While nothing can bring those, who are lost to us back, we can use flowers to help show respect, reverence and the belief that there is love inside all of us.
References: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Souls%27_Day | http://www.inlieuofflowers.info/index.php?s=2 | http://www.passionflowers.biz/why-funeral-flowers-are-so-important/
