Have you ever wondered about the significance of common flowers brought to cemeteries in Charlotte, NC? From weddings and births to deaths and funeral home services, flowers have a rich tradition of symbolism in many important life events. What do common flowers represent?

Like many flowers, carnations come in different colors. Each color has a different meaning. For example, red carnations depict admiration, white connotes innocence and pure love, and pink carnations convey remembrance. In the United States, chrysanthemums sometimes called mums, represent truth. But in parts of Asia and Europe, these flowers represent death, mourning, and grief and are therefore only used at funerals and memorials. Tulips are generally a spring flower, harkening thoughts of renewal and rebirth. However, these flowers can also be associated with forgiveness worthiness, and love, making them ideal for use at a funeral or memorial.

Lilacs, like lilies, often signify youth and innocence. This symbolism makes lilacs a common choice for the funeral or memorial tribute of a young person or someone who had a childlike nature or good heart. With its signature floral scent and youthful appearance, lilies signify purity and innocence. They are often brought to funerals and memorials to represent the idea that the deceased’s soul has become peaceful and innocent in death or that the deceased will be reborn in a new life.

There’s also the hibiscus. Often thought of as a feminine flower, the hibiscus symbolizes delicate beauty and fertility. Therefore, its often used at services for beloved wives or partners. Because of its prominence in several island cultures, the hibiscus can also signify an association with Hawaii or Haiti. You can’t forget about roses or forget-me-nots. Simply put, roses symbolize love. While different colors of roses have other meanings, the most common theme is one of love. White roses are very common at funerals because they represent rebirth and renewed love as well as pure love. Like their name suggests, these flowers are all about remembrance. Forget-me-nots signify lasting love for the deceased and the idea that the love will always live on in your memories, heart, and mind. This symbolism makes these flowers ideal for funerals and memorials.

The gladiolus flower is very common for funerals and memorials as it symbolized strength, moral integrity, and faithfulness. What about orchids? Orchids are recognized as symbols of everlasting love all over the world. Perhaps this idea comes from orchid’s rarity or maybe from their incredible beauty. But no matter the reason, orchids are always a great choice for a funeral or memorial service to represent your everlasting love for the deceased. What about camellia? With its delicate petals and soft scent, the camellia is a perfect representation of excellence, refinement, and perfection. These flowers are often brought to funerals and memorials of someone respected in their community.

We hope this information was helpful so you can choose the perfect bloom to bring to a funeral, memorial, or any other kind of service. Do you want to learn more about memorials, funerals, or Charlotte, NC cemeteries? Call or visit us today.

Services at cemeteries in Charlotte, NC and, in fact, the entire funeral service industry are built on traditions. Most of these traditions originated in religion, be it Judaism, Christianity, or another belief system. But with religion on a downslide, what will take the place of these traditions? How can those suffering from a loss find richness and meaning in death?

Rituals might be the answer. A ritual is defined “a repeated pattern of behavior performed at specified times”, and it often includes the use of symbols, rites, and actions.” Rituals have long been used in both religious and general cultural situations. Take, for example, Día De Los Muertos, visiting a lost loved one at a cemetery, or performing Last Rites on someone who is dying. All of these rituals fit the definition, but they also offer lots of benefits for those that perform them.

Rituals are powerful because they offer a wide range of benefits. Specifically, they give us space to process a loss. In a grief study performed by Harvard University, researched discovered that it wasn’t just traditional rituals that helped people going through a loss. They also learned that personal rituals played a large role in helping with grief. These personal rituals might seem useless or silly to the outside word, but to the mourner they had immense meaning and healing power. Little acts from washing a car to going for a walk have the bereaved space to emotionally process the loss.

Though they reported feeling sad during the ritual itself, they mostly reported feeling better and lighter afterwards. Rituals give us a feeling of control. We don’t have much control over life or death, but rituals help us feel like we have control, which can go a long way towards comforting us. In that same Harvard study, the participants that performed a ritual reported feeling that “things were in check’ and less likely to feel ‘helpless’, ‘powerless’, and ‘out of control’.”

Rituals also bring people together. As said by expert Tracey Wallace from Eterneva, “Mourning rituals and ceremonies are meant to bring people together, to take the hands of those mourning the loss and lead them astray from isolation”.  People often feel along after losing a loved one, but rituals can help them feel connected to other people and part of a community. As The Conversation wrote, “Using familiar words and actions in an unfamiliar situation can help us find our way through it”. During a grief study done by Harvard, the scientists discovered that people who experienced little or no grief symptoms within one month of losing someone they loved all performed rituals. The experts believe that the rituals helped with the grief symptoms because they gave the bereaved a chance to mourn the loss, celebrate the life, and process their grief.

Rituals have incredible power for healing after a loss. We are here to help if you want to learn more about common rituals or Charlotte, NC cemeteries. Call or visit us today for more information.