If you have ever attended services held in churches, cemeteries, or funeral homes in Oregon City, OR. for a loved one who has passed you probably noticed flowers were a big component. Flowers not only serve as décor, but they are also a way for friends and family to offer their condolences to the grieving family as well as a special token left on gravesites. But why? How did this start and how is this tradition still carried out today? If you have ever wondered how flowers become a staple in funeral services, keep reading as we explore this topic.
While funeral flowers have been found to be used all over the world in almost every culture, the oldest recorded case can be dated back to 62,000 B.C. In Northern Iraq, Dr. Ralph Solecki discovered this site as part of an excavation in 1951. It has since been recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest form of human ritual.
While once flowers were used to help mask the odor of the body decomposing, today they are used for several reasons. They can act as a way to show love and respect as well as offer support and sympathy. This can be done in a variety of ways from sending the grieving family a special bouquet, to laying a single flower on the casket.
Another reason flowers are so special is that they each carry with them a special meaning or focus. This can bring a meaningful element to this token of love. Although the meanings may differ from culture to culture, some of the most popular North American flowers associated with funerals include:
Not only do the types of flowers have meanings, but their colors of them do as well.
Flowers are associated with funerals today in a number of ways. One way is with flower sympathy arrangements. These arrangements are sent to the grieving family’s home and can be sent by anyone who would like to express their condolences to the family. Another way is for flowers to be left at a loved one’s gravesite as a token of love and remembrance.
The most pronounced way flowers are used is with funeral flowers that are delivered directly to funeral homes in Oregon City, OR. These arrangements are typically much larger than sympathy arrangements and are used as décor in the services such as the funeral and visitations. They are most often sent by family and or very close family friends and can be arranged as standing spays, sprays that will be laid on the casket, or in shapes such as a heart or cross.