Christian flower traditions
Lilies at Easter, the rose and the Madonna lily, altar flowers and wreaths.
HawthornCrataegus
A thorny shrub or tree with white or pink spring flowers and small edible fruits
🇮🇪 Ireland and 7 more · Wildflower
Lily-of-the-valleyConvallaria majalis
A woodland plant with sweet-scented white bell flowers in late spring
🇫🇮 Finland and 4 more · Wildflower
Bay laurelLaurus nobilis
Evergreen tree with aromatic leaves used as bay leaf in cooking
🇬🇷 Greece and 9 more · Flowering tree
ColtsfootTussilago farfara
A yellow spring-flowering herb once used in traditional remedies
🇨🇳 China and 4 more · Wildflower
PoinsettiaEuphorbia pulcherrima
The red-bracted shrub of Christmas displays, native to Mexico and Central America
🇲🇽 Mexico and 8 more · Wildflower
CarnationDianthus caryophyllus
A fragrant flower with ruffled petals, grown worldwide for decoration and meaning
🇨🇳 China and 7 more · Garden flower
HyacinthHyacinthus
A spring-blooming bulb with fragrant, colourful flower spikes
🇹🇷 Turkey and 7 more · Bulb flower
HollyIlex
Evergreen trees and shrubs with red berries, known for winter and Christmas use
Ilex · Wildflower
Calendula
Golden daisy-like flowers used in food, dye, and rituals
Calendula · Wildflower
Common hawthornCrataegus monogyna
A thorny shrub or tree with white spring flowers and red fruit, native to Europe
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 more · Wildflower
Decoration
Advent wreathAdventskranz
A ring of evergreens and candles marking each week of Advent
🇩🇪 Germany and 2 more · Worn flowers, Nov to Dec
Decoration
Wreath (attire)
A circular headpiece made of flowers, leaves, or branches for celebration or honour
🇬🇷 Greece · Worn flowers
Decoration
Flower carpet
Patterns made on the ground from fresh flowers or petals
🇧🇪 Belgium and 3 more · Carpet or floor pattern, Aug to Dec
Shamrockseamróg
Ireland’s three-leaf clover symbol, worn on St. Patrick’s Day
🇮🇪 Ireland · Wildflower
ColumbineAquilegia vulgaris
A nodding blue or purple wildflower with spurred petals, known as granny’s bonnet
🇫🇷 France and 5 more · Wildflower
Decoration
Palm Sunday
Christian festival with palms or local branches marking Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem
🇮🇳 India and 1 more · Custom
Decoration
Rushbearing
An English festival of carrying rushes and flowers to church in decorated processions
🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Custom, Jul to Aug
Decoration
Ofrenda
A home altar with offerings for Día de los Muertos in Mexico
🇲🇽 Mexico · Offering or rite, November
Decoration
Kupala NightКупа́лле / Иван Купала / Івана Купала / Noc Kupały
Slavic midsummer festival with flower garlands, bonfires, and water rituals
🇧🇾 Belarus and 5 more · Custom, Jun to Jul
Decoration
Mothering Sunday
A British day for honouring mothers and the mother church, marked with violets and cake
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 more · Custom, Mar to Apr
Decoration
Mother's Day
A day to honor mothers and motherhood around the world
🇺🇸 United States and 6 more · Custom
Decoration
Valentine's Day
A day for expressing love with cards, flowers, and gifts on February 14
🇮🇳 India and 1 more · Custom, February
Verbena
A genus of small, spiked flowers grown in gardens and linked to ancient rituals
Verbena · Wildflower
Common rueRuta graveolens
A strong-scented Mediterranean herb with blue-green leaves and yellow flowers
🇱🇹 Lithuania and 8 more · Wildflower
Decoration
Bouquet
A creative arrangement of flowers, given or displayed for many occasions
🇨🇳 China and 1 more · Arrangement
Decoration
Hıdırellez
Spring festival marking the meeting of Hızır and İlyas, celebrated on May 5–6
🇹🇷 Turkey and 8 more · Custom, May
Decoration
Garland
A string or braid of flowers, leaves, or other materials for decoration or ceremony
🇮🇳 India and 3 more · Garland or wreath
Decoration
Day of the DeadDía de (los) Muertos
Mexico’s festival of remembrance with altars, marigolds, and sugar skulls
🇲🇽 Mexico · Custom, November
Decoration
May devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary
Month-long Catholic customs honouring Mary with flowers, altars, and processions
🇮🇹 Italy and 7 more · Custom, May
Decoration
May Day Festival
A spring festival with flowers, greenery, maypoles and bonfires on the first of May
🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 more · Custom, May
Decoration
MidsummerMidsommar
Europe’s summer solstice festival with bonfires, flowers and outdoor gatherings
🇸🇪 Sweden and 5 more · Custom, June
Decoration
Rose waterگلاب
Flavoured water made by steeping or distilling rose petals
🇮🇷 Iran and 2 more · Offering or rite
Red campionSilene dioica
A wild pink-red flower of woods and roadsides in northern and central Europe
🇮🇪 Ireland and 4 more · Wildflower
Decoration
History of flower arrangement
How arranging flowers became an art across cultures and centuries
🇪🇬 Egypt and 3 more · Arrangement
Decoration
Wreath
A ring-shaped decoration made from flowers, leaves, or other materials
🇬🇷 Greece and 7 more · Arrangement
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Bouquet: James Vick's Sons (Rochester, N.Y.); Henry G. Gilbert Nursery and Seed, No restrictions, source
- Garland: No machine-readable author provided. Piotrus assumed (based on copyrig, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Day of the Dead: RubeHM, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- May devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary: Žemaitijos kelias, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- May Day Festival: Bryan Ledgard, CC BY 2.0, source
- Midsummer: Kora27, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Rose water: E4024, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bay laurel: Forest and Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0 us, source
- Red campion: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Coltsfoot: Andreas Trepte, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Lily-of-the-valley: Salicyna, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Holly: Jürgen Howaldt, CC BY-SA 2.0 de, source
- Hawthorn: Nadiatalent, Public domain, source
- Dianthus: Darkone ( talk · contribs ), CC BY-SA 1.0, source
- Poinsettia: Frank Vincentz, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hyacinth: The wub, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Calendula: Alvesgaspar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Common hawthorn: Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- History of flower arrangement: Otto Scholderer, Public domain, source
- Wreath: Олександр Майоров, Майкл Ендрюс, Світлана Буланова, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Advent wreath: Burkhard Mücke, CC BY 4.0, source
- Wreath (attire): Pavlo Boyko, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Flower carpet: Francisco Conde Sánchez, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Shamrock: Kenraiz, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Columbine: Josep Gesti, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Palm Sunday: Pietro Lorenzetti, Public domain, source
- Rushbearing: Alexander Wilson, Public domain, source
- Ofrenda: Eneas de Troya, CC BY 2.0, source
- Kupala Night: Ivan Sokolov, Public domain, source
- Mothering Sunday: Jonathunder, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mother's Day: Dave Parker, CC BY 2.0, source
- Valentine's Day: Upload: Chordboard, Public domain, source
- Verbena: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Common rue: Kurt Stüber [1], CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hıdırellez: Правительство Республики Крым, CC BY 4.0, source