January 3, 2009

• Carnation

  Did you know that the birth flower for January is Dianthus caryophyllus, the Carnation?  January is my birth month and I have always loved carnations.  Now I realize that I have been going with the flow all along regarding flowers.  Hmm!

   

  I discovered a bit of mythology around Carnations at http://whisperingworlds.com. 

   

  - In the 13^th century, Crusaders in Tunis drank a mixture of carnation leaves with wine to control the raging fevers of the plague. 

   

  - In the 16^th century John Gerard wrote in his herbal that the flowers of carnations and sugar mixed to a conserve could be used to expel fevers and poison and was a comfort to the heart.

   

  - A Christian legend says that where Mary’s tear drops fell when she saw Jesus carrying his cross carnations began to grow.  According to the website, this might be why Pink carnations were chosen as a symbol of motherly love.

   

  - A young Italian woman named Margherita fell in love with a knight whose name was Orlando.  She supposedly gave Orlando a white carnation which he carried with him when he went off to war.  Orlando was mortally wounded and his blood stained the center of the white carnation which was returned to Margherita.  She planted the seeds and every blossom that came from the seeds was white with crimson centers.  It became the custom in her family from that day to deliver a vase of white carnations with crimson centers to each baby girl born into the family.

   

  - Carnations are used to tell fortunes in Korea.  Young girls place three carnations in their hair.  If the top flower dies first, this signifies that her last years would be difficult.  If the center flower dies first, the earlier years would be difficult and hard.  If the bottom flower died first then her entire life would be miserable.

   

  There is a City of Carnation located in rural Western Washington with a population of 1,905 residents.  It is approximately 30 miles east of Seattle and located in the beautiful Snoqualmie Valley.  The town was originally named Tolt but was changed to Carnation  in 1917 after the world famous Carnation Dairy that operated there from 1910.

   

  The scientific name dianthus translates to “flower of love” or “flower of the gods.”  With a history covering over 2,000 years, the carnation is one of the world’s oldest cultivated flower varieties.  It is appreciated for its ruffled appearance, clove-like scent, and extended blooming period.  (Information taken from http://proflowers.com.)

   

  The meanings of carnations include fascination, distinction and love.  Like many other flowers, different messages can also be expressed with flower’s different color varieties.

   

  Wikipedia stated that there are two bands named Carnation and they are as follows:

   

            The Carnations, a Canadian indie rock band, and

            Green Carnation, a Norwegian progressive metal band

             

  Of course, we all should know that Carnation is a registered trademark for a food and drink brand.

   

  However, I was truly surprised to learn that there was a military coup, the Carnation Revolution that began on April 25, 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal.   The pro-independence guerrillas made repeated appeals to the citizenry to stay home.  However, the population descended onto the streets holding red carnations (a symbolic flower of communism) by the thousands and convinced the soldiers to swap their bullets for flowers.  This brought about the end of the longest running authoritarian regime in Western Europe as well as the final dissolution of the Portuguese Empire.  Although the political police killed four people before surrendering, the revolution was unusual in that the revolutionaries did not use direct violence to achieve their goals.  (from http://en.wikipedia.org)

   

  • 1:04 pm
  • 4 Comments