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Monday, May 12, 2003
Flores de Mayo
By Henrylito D. Tacio
THIS is a supposedly true story. A new business was opening and one of the owner's friends wanted to send him flowers for the occasion. The flowers arrived at the new business site and the owner read the card: "Rest in Peace."
The owner was very angry, to say the least, and called to complain. "Sir, I'm really sorry for the mistake, and sorry you were offended," said the florist. "But even worse, somewhere there is a funeral taking place Monday, and they have flowers with a note saying, "Congratulations on your new location."
This reminds us the words of American editor and satirist H.L. Mencken: "A cynic is a man who, when he smells flowers, looks around for a coffin."
American lecturer Henry Ward Beckford argues: "Flowers are the sweetest things that God ever made and forgot to put a soul into."
French novelist Alphonse Karr once wrote: "Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns. I am thankful that thorns have roses." English humorist Douglas Jerrold agrees: "Every rose has its thorn: You never find a woman without pins and needles." Scottish novelist James Matthew Barrie sums it all: "God gave us our memories so that we might have roses in December."
Flowers are the blossom of any plant, including trees and shrubs, although it is specifically applied to the "phanerograms" or flowering plants. Of course, everyone knows that the chrysanthemum is the national flower of Japan, where it can be traced back centuries. Pierre Louis Blancard introduced it to Europe in 1789.
The rose is the flower of erect or climbing shrubs. Apart from the wild species of the temperate zone, there are countless cultivated varieties.
Tulip, on the other hand, is a bulbous plant of the lily family. They grow wild in Turkey, whence they were brought to Holland, triggering off a boom in 1637, with 2,600 guilders paid for a single root.
In the Philippines, flowers bloom during the month of May. In fact, one of the most popular religious devotions observed is the Flores de Mayo. To celebrate, children from all over the country are requested to bring flowers to offer daily before the image of the Virgin Mary.
Unknowingly, the use of flowers for decorative purposes is a relatively modern idea. From Biblical times all the way up to and including the Middle Ages, the main use for flowers was for their fragrance.
Well, we will try to put things rather delicately. Let's face it; people in Biblical times did not bathe as often as we do Monday. In fact, they rarely bathed at all. Anything as sweet-smelling as a flower was quite a welcome contrast to the day-to-day odors one usually encountered in ancient times.
The picking of flowers is referred to in the Bible only once: "My beloved has gone to his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies" (Song of Songs 6:2). The Mishneh, too, speaks of the picking of lilies (Torah 3:7).
The Mishneh mentions a rose garden, which existed in Jerusalem since the days of the prophets. According to the Mishneh, figs grew there (Ma'as 2:5). Here, too, the garden was not for decorative purposes, for the fragrant roses were used in the preparation of perfumes.
With Monday's high-tech and fast-paced lifestyle taking its daily toll on our lives, experts advise exercise and other personal lifestyle changes to relieve stress. According to recent behavioral research conducted at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, nature provides us with a simple way to improve emotional health - flowers. The presence of flowers triggers happy emotions, heightens feelings of life satisfaction and affects social behavior in a positive manner far beyond what is normally believed.
"What's most exciting about this study is that it challenges established scientific beliefs about how people can manage their day-to-day moods in a healthy and natural way," said Dr. Jeannette Haviland-Jones, Professor of Psychology at Rutgers and lead researcher on the study.
Her team of researchers explored the link between flowers and life satisfaction in a 10-month study of participants' behavioral and emotional responses to receiving flowers. The results show that flowers are a natural and healthful moderator of moods.
Flowers have an immediate impact on happiness. All study participants expressed "true" or "excited" smiles upon receiving flowers, demonstrating extraordinary delight and gratitude. This reaction was universal, occurring in all age groups.
Flowers have a long-term positive effect on moods. Specifically, study participants reported feeling less depressed, anxious and agitated after receiving flowers, and demonstrated a higher sense of enjoyment and life satisfaction.
Flowers make intimate connections. The presence of flowers led to increased contact with family and friends. "Common sense tells us that flowers make us happy," said Dr. Haviland-Jones. "Now, science shows that not only do flowers make us happier than we know, they have strong positive effects on our emotional well being."
Meanwhile, English poet Rudyard Kipling once pointed out: "Flowers are not made by singing 'Oh, how beautiful,' and sitting in the shade." English critic Logan Pearsall Smith wondered, "Isn't it odd that flowers are the reproductive organs of the plants they grow on?"
American humorous writer Mark Twain has this opinion: "Whatever a man's age, he can reduce it several years by putting a bright-colored flower in his buttonhole." British wit and poet Oscar Wilde commented: "Flowers are as common in the country as people are in London."
(May 12, 2003 issue)
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