If you'd like to get in touch with us:
Or use the contact us page on the Clare Florist web site.
It is believed that Saint Patrick's Day has been celebrated in Ireland
since before the 1600s. It was also believed to have served as a one-day
break during Lent,
the forty day period of fasting. This would involve drinking alcohol
(something which became a tradition - Guinness anyone?) It was only in the mid-1990s that the Irish government began a campaign
to use Saint Patrick's Day to showcase Ireland and its culture. The first Saint Patrick's Festival was held on March 17, 1996. In 1997,
it became a three-day event, and by 2000 it was a four-day event. By
2006, the festival was five days long; over 675,000 people attended the
2009 parade. Overall last year's five day festival saw close to one
million visitors that took part in the festivities that included
concerts, outdoor theatre performances, and fireworks. Throughout the world, Saint Patrick's Day is widely celebrated by Irish and non-Irish alike, revellers ware green clothing, rivers and fountains are dyed green and the shamrock is displayed proudly - it is widely seen as a day to celebrate individual links to Ireland and
all things Irish.
Why not join in the Saint Patrick's Day celebrations, ware something green, enjoy a Guinness or send some green themed flowers or shamrocks!
If you'd like to get in touch with us:
Or use the contact us page on the Clare Florist web site.
Thankfully the weather is hotting up again!
It's so great to come to work and everyone be in such a good mood because they have been out in the sunshine in the evening.
Endorphins are natures free feel good drug!.
The number one way to release endorphins is exercise which we have all being doing as we are all avid cyclists.
Certain foods can release endorphins, these are usually stimulating foods such as hot peppers and wasabi.
Sending or receiving flowers makes both people feel great, it's nice to give but its great to receive. Why not send some Summer Cheer to make you both feel happy.
It goes without saying that life is what we make of it. Endorphins are natures way of letting us know how life is supposed to feel.
By choosing lifestyles and attitudes that carry opportunity for positive endorphins release we can bring more good feelings into daily lives.
Feel good, get out, be active, eat well, have fun but most of all be HAPPY !!!!
Actions, it is said, speak louder than words, and what do we say with flowers more often than “I love you”, but do you ever wonder what those words are around the world? I know a few, but I thought it would be fun to learn some more. Here’s what I found, see if you can guess all the languages! (I’ll put the answers below.)
Ta gra agam ort
Taim íngra leat
Rwy'n dy garu di
Ich liebe dich
Ik hou van jou
Kocham cie
Jag älskar dig
Ya tyebya lyublyu
Je t’aime
Te amo
Ti amo
Mi amas vin
S'agapo
Seni seviyorum
Ana behibak/behibek
Main tumse pyar karta hoon
Saya cintamu
Wo ai ni
Kimi o ai shiteru
Nagligivaget
Ayor anosh'ni
Tiako ianao
Ek het jou lief
To see how these are written in native script and for even more languages see here. An alternative list which gives more information on variations can also be found here.
And below is how to say “I love you” in American Sign Language, for a clearer picture see here, and
you can see the British Sign Language version at the end of this short video.
__
__ ( )
( ) |__|
|__| __ __ | |
| | ( ) ( ) |__| __
|__| |__| |__| | | / )
| (__) (__) | / /
| |/ /
| / /
\ /
In order, the languages are: Gaelic, Irish, Welsh, German, Dutch, Polish, Swedish, Russian, French, Spanish (also Latin), Italian, Esperanto, Greek, Turkish, Arabic (to a man/woman), Hindi, Malay, Mandarin, Japanese, Eskimo, Navaho, Malagasy, Afrikaans. — and American sign language.
And if you're still shy about saying "I love you" you can always send our amazing "Red Rose - Love" bouquet which will convey the message, with or without words.
I mentioned previously
in this blog that Chrysanthemums get the royal treatment in Japan. In fact, the annual celebration
of the famous Chrysanthemum Festival in Japan falls in September, traditionally
on the 9th. But the most mesmerising part, however, may not be so well
known outside of Japan.
The little gem I'm referring to is the "Chrysanthemum dolls" exhibition - yes, an invigorating show of life-size dolls in costumes made of fresh and blooming Chrysanthemums! The first of these shows was way back in 1910, an event that was since regularly held at Hirakata. At each show, 50 dolls are constructed to display characters in various famous Japanese historical scenes as well as Japanese drama (kabuki).
Link to a picture of a Chrysanthemum Dolls exhibit.
These enchanting dolls require the utmost expertise and care from the craftsmen, not to mention meticulous planning and co-ordination - with different masters dealing with different parts, from the design of the scenario layout down to the bamboo body frames and painted faces. Each doll would take at least a day to be constructed by an expert, using up at least 100 plants. Over the duration of the show, flowers have to be continually kept fresh and they are changed every 7 days or show, using up to 40000 plants altogether!
A shame that they seem to have stopped doing these
shows, as far I know, due to a mixture of declining number of visitors and a
lack of successors to the old masters of this craft. That's not to say some
Chrysanthemum dolls that are left around certain Japanese botanical gardens won’t greet you.
Until then, why not send "Just Chrysanths" or even try developing some Chrysanthemum figures of your own?
Long gone are the days of associating Chrysanthemums with funerals and crummy old rooms.
Vibrant with exhilarating colours and varieties, and durable beyond most cut flowers, they are the current hippest favourites in town!
In fact, I've always wondered about the name. As it turns out, the flower was named by Mr. Linnaeus (mentioned a couple of entries ago), the funky long name coming from a combination of the Greek 'krus' meaning gold and 'anthemum' meaning flower.
In Japan, the gold flower has always been viewed as symbol of the sun. There, Chrysanthemums have a long history of being used to represent divine authority, where the throne is referred as the Chrysanthemum throne. The Japanese even have a special festival dedicated to it!
For the Chinese also, the flower is of a special value - East Asian species of these golden beauties are often boiled with rock sugar to make the powerful throat healing, fever cooling remedial herbal tea. There's also a city named after Chrysanthemums in China!
Unfortunately the Chrysanthemums in your lovely bouquet won't be edible! Just as well..according to Feng Shui, they will bring endless amount of laughter and happiness to your home - so leave them on display! Other symbolism of the flower include longevity and nobility, they are great for adding that royal touch to any rooms.
And of course, these colourful delights are perfect for making eye-catching arrangements, you can get some inspirations for possibilities of what to do with them here.
We will soon have some of these enchanting chrysanthemum bouquets in stock - look out for them!!
P.S. Another piece of trivia - there's a type of firework that's named Chrysanthemum for its resemblence to the flower!
© Copyright Clare Florist 2010. Send beautiful flowers for next day flower delivery throughout the UK.
® Clare Florist is a Registered Mark of Flowerdot. Ltd
