Why do they lay flowers at the eternal flame? Real or artificial flowers for the grave? Where is the best place to buy flowers for a cemetery?

Flowers accompany most joyful and sad events in a person’s life and mark not only holidays and fun, but also those sorrowful moments when we say goodbye to last way someone close or dear to us. Flowers serve as an expression of respect and grief for the departed and emphasize the irreparable loss and pain that we experience when saying goodbye to a close relative or good friend. However, when faced with such moments in life, we sometimes get lost and don’t know how many flowers it is customary to bring to a funeral.

Traditions of Christianity and other religions

Everyone knows that people come to funerals with an even number of buds in the composition. Not knowing the history of this custom, we obey generally accepted rules and strictly adhere to them - we carry them to the funeral even number flowers, and we give the living an odd number of plants in a bouquet.

In the Christian religion, even numbers have always been associated with the ending life path, with death. Besides, fallen soldiers They always presented two flowers - one to the deceased, the second to God. All this influenced the formation of traditions that we adhere to today. But an odd number symbolizes the continuation of something, moving on.

It is permissible to bring not only two flowers. The composition can have up to eight buds, but an even number must be present. In this case, it is acceptable to bring a composition containing a larger number of colors, then the symbolism of the numbers will simply be lost. It makes no difference how many buds there are in a bouquet that contains more than twelve flowers.

However, other cultures have distinctive features, which are worth considering. In the West and in Europe, they give each other bouquets with an even number of flowers and do not see any bad connotations in this. And in Georgia, for example, they bring from three to seven flowers to funerals, but always an odd number.

In addition, we adopt traditions from each other, and this is inevitable. The USSR included republics in which people lived different nationalities and religions. And even now we live in a multinational country in which cultures different nations sometimes intertwined.

It's not surprising that you can sometimes see Muslim grave flowers or wreaths. Neither Muslims nor Jews welcome the decoration of graves. According to the laws of religion, it is necessary to take care of the living, not the dead, and spend money not on decorating graves, but on charity. If, nevertheless, a person unknowingly came to the funeral of a Muslim with flowers, then they can be placed on the edge of the grave.

Flowers for funerals

Experienced florists will tell you what types of flora and how many flowers you can bring to a funeral. The funeral composition has a black or red ribbon with words of condolences and respect for the deceased. The color scheme is not very diverse, the color of the petals is muted and the presence of greenery is mandatory:

• It is customary for men to buy red shades of petals for a funeral if it is a close relative, but for acquaintances and friends white, yellow, purple shades– these can be roses, carnations, callas, gladioli;
• women prefer pink or white tones of roses, lilies, calla lilies, violets and orchids;
• Children are brought to funerals mainly with white flowers as a symbol of purity and innocence; pink petals are acceptable for unmarried girls, flowers are chosen with buds that are not fully open.

How older man, the more saturated the color of the petals can be. Thus, red roses can be replaced with maroon ones as a symbol of blood relationship and tribute oldest person in family. Multi-colored compositions are not used at funerals; all plants must be kept in the same color. For an adult, buds are chosen that are fully blossomed.

Tribute to memory

There are certain rules for presenting flowers and observing traditions at the cemetery:

• Flowers brought to a funeral must be taken to the cemetery; they should not be left at home or on the road on the way to the cemetery.
• Fresh flowers are placed in the coffin when it is open, but before closing, the flowers are taken out and placed on top of the coffin lid, then they are laid on the grave with the buds facing the cross.
• It is not customary to remove flowers from a grave earlier than forty days, so you can ask the florist to treat the plants with a special composition that protects the flowers from quickly withering.

How many flowers are brought to the funeral and what kind of plants they will be can be decided at the flower shop, but it is worth remembering that the arrangement should not have packaging. Flowers for funerals are not decorated, the only exception being a funeral ribbon.

There is a tradition of presenting artificial flowers at funerals. They keep theirs longer appearance and color without requiring special care. Today, a variety of materials are used, using which craftsmen sometimes achieve amazing similarities between real and artificial flowers.

As a rule, such flowers are used to form wreaths. The wreath is a symbol of infinity and life cycle, as it has a round or oval shape. Imitation of greenery is also used to make them. Funeral wreaths intertwined with mourning ribbons with words of grief and sadness.

Dear colleagues, a great date for all of us is approaching - May 9, Victory Day. Many schools will hold rallies and lay flowers at monuments. I offer you a scenario for laying flowers at the monument. I really hope that the script created by our activists will help you in holding special events.

Students dressed in the uniform of different branches of the Red Army (pilot, sailor, tankman, infantryman) from the Great Patriotic War are holding in their hands a Garland of Glory, woven from fir and tied St. George's ribbon. Along the edges of them, school activists lined up like a living “corridor”, dressed in modern military uniforms. The guys making up the “corridor” stretched a meter-wide St. George’s ribbon on both sides (can be sewn from black and orange fabric).

Music sounds (Johann Sebastian Bach, Suite No. 3)

1 presenter: The chronicle of the national feat accomplished in the name of protecting our Fatherland is great.

2 presenter: Having said goodbye to the past century, we will never say goodbye to it. tragic events, which became for future centuries lessons of grief and memory, courage and love of humanity, the triumph of peace and justice over cruelty.

1 presenter: 70 years ago the last shots of a difficult, tragic war rang out, but the wounds in human hearts do not heal...

2 presenter: Our long-suffering land was washed with streams of blood and fire for four endless years.

1 presenter: Rally dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the Victory Soviet people in Great Patriotic War and the 72nd anniversary of the liberation of Krasnodar from the fascist invaders, let us consider it open.

The Russian anthem plays.

2 presenter: Today we celebrate a special date - Victory Day! Our country 1418 days and nights forged Victory. And now this day has come. Tears of grief and joy. VICTORY!

1 presenter: We, Kuban residents, have something to be proud of. Cossacks of the 17th Cavalry Corps.

2 presenter: The sailors under the command of Major W.A. Kunikova.

1 presenter: Partisan units"Nordost", "Thunderstorm", "New", "Hawk"

2 presenter: Pilots A.I. Pokryshkin, brothers D.B. And B.B. Glinka, F.I. Fadeev.

1 presenter: 46th Guards Taman Red Banner Order of Suvorov 3rd degree night bomber aviation regiment "Night Witches".

2 presenter: Lay wreaths on the sea.

There is such a human custom -

In memory of the soldiers who died in the sea,

They lay wreaths on the sea.

Ten thousand standing skeletons

Without telling names or reasons,

Throwing back their heads towards the light,

They reach out to us, they are deep.

Lay wreaths on the sea.

2 presenter: Their vertebrae sway a little,

Shackled to the cemetery,

Nameless scary lilies of the valley.

Lay wreaths on the sea.

1 presenter: Lay wreaths on the sea

To the accompaniment of pipes, drums and sirens.

From jasmine, from roses, from lilac

Lay wreaths on the sea.

2 presenter: Place wreaths on the ground.

There are young men lying in it.

From lilac, from roses, from jasmine

Lay living wreaths.

1 presenter: Braid earthly flowers

Above the ground to the burnt out pilots.

You drank with them before the flight.

Place wreaths on the sky.

2 presenter: Let them stand in the sky, visible,

Despising the law of attraction,

Speaking to the coming generations:

1 presenter: The war spared neither children nor adults. Grief bent and twisted them. But they didn't give up. We survived. Both people and cities survived and rose from the ashes. Monument cities, Hero Cities.

The presenters call them Hero Cities. At the same time, 1 student comes out, in the left hand there is a lit lamp, and in the right hand there is a carnation, to which a red ribbon with the name of the Hero City is tied, and one by one they insert the carnations into the Garland of Glory, so that the ribbons with the name hang down. Having inserted their carnation, students stand in front of the guys holding a large St. George ribbon (corridor). The lamps are transferred to right hand, arm slightly bent at the elbow.

2 presenter: Moscow, Leningrad, Stalingrad, Kyiv.

1 presenter: Minsk, Odessa, Sevastopol, Novorossiysk.

2 presenter: Kerch, Tula, Murmansk, Smolensk, Brest

1 presenter: Lay wreaths on Time,

We burned in this eternal fire.

From jasmine, from white lilac

Place wreaths on the fire.

P. Makarov plays, Khotira (music for laying flowers). The presenters step aside. Students holding the Garland of Glory slowly bring the Garland to the monument, walking along a “corridor” of ribbon and lamps. Near the monument they kneel on their left knee and place the Garland of Glory. They turn left and leave. Next come veterans and students. The veterans have a basket with yellow roses and a black ribbon attached. On the ribbon there is the inscription “We remember!” Students have a basket with yellow roses and a black ribbon attached. The ribbon reads “We Appreciate!” Veterans and students place their baskets on either side of the Garland and stop. Students with lamps in formation approach the monument and, under the first beat of the metronome, place the lamps in one row in front of the garland at the same distance. They stop. All ceremony participants turn to face the monument.

Laying flowers on a grave or headstone is a ritual that we perform every time we visit a cemetery. The choice of colors should correctly reflect our attitude towards the deceased, how to do right choice, and is it necessary to do it at all?

Many of us often find it difficult to choose when choosing the right kind colors. This applies to both ordinary gifts and ritual customs. In the latter case, we think about choice less often, although there are simple rules- which flowers are for a grave, and which ones are for a living person.

Is it possible to leave a bright and festive bouquet at the grave? Wouldn’t choosing a restrained and modest composition be too “poor”? Choose fresh or artificial flowers? Bouquet, wreath or composition? How many flowers should there be in a bouquet? We ask ourselves these and other questions every time we make a purchase, and each time we choose what the previous buyer chose.

There is a simple rule: choose what your heart tells you. And yet, we will try to at least roughly understand the meaning of certain varieties of flowers.

Real or artificial flowers?

Here, most people tend to use common sense: if you are a city resident and visiting a grave loved one infrequently, then you should opt for artificial flowers. They will last much longer than a regular bouquet, but eventually the precipitation and sun will do their job. If you visit the cemetery on average once a season, we recommend purchasing one or more artificial bouquets, or combining them with a bouquet of fresh flowers. The main rule here is not to overdo it with colors. From a distance, the bright bouquet will be visible better, but up close it will clearly look tacky. Therefore, it is better to give preference to not too bright, natural colors.

Pay attention to bouquets with plastic bases that can be dug into the soil of the flower garden for greater stability. When buying a bouquet on a wire base, make sure that the depth of the soil in the flower garden will allow you to install the bouquet on the grave.

A small decorative wreath or basket will look original on the grave. Wreaths symbolize the unity of life, death, and immortality human soul. By placing a wreath on the grave, we express the hope that the soul of the deceased has left the body and rushed to the heavenly kingdom.

Both wreaths and baskets are standard or made to order. Don’t forget to check with the seller how the wreath or basket can be attached to the flower garden or monument.

IN Lately Compositions of artificial flowers installed on a monument, usually horizontal, are becoming popular. This decoration option will contrast well with the stone and look beautiful from afar. It is attached to granite using an adhesive base.

The choice of fresh flowers should be made if a visit to the grave is dedicated to important date. By the way, it is not customary to bring a wreath to a grave on a birthday or death anniversary.

What do these or those flowers on the grave mean?

Traditionally, we place carnations, roses, chrysanthemums and, less commonly, lilies on the grave or in the coffin. The choice of rarer colors is not denied, but the following symbolism must be taken into account.

• Red roses mean passionate feelings, and are also a symbol of grief over an untimely or tragic death - due to the similarity with the color of blood.
• Pink roses - symbol of friendship
• Yellow roses symbolize jealousy, their choice as a ritual decoration, in our opinion, is rather doubtful
• White Rose symbolize purity and youth
• Red carnations- attractiveness (in our country these are the flowers placed on military memorials)
• Pink carnations- Gratitude
• White carnations- memories
• Poppy has always been considered a flower of consolation
• Calla lilies- denote marriage bonds and marital fidelity
• Sunflower- Same rare view on the grave, however, is relevant as a sign of admiration and worship
• Peony- symbol of healing
• Zinnia- symbol of friendship
• Daisies- innocence
• Gladioli- strength of character
• Orchid- tenderness and beauty

Of course, in all this there is a certain convention or even light fiction. If in your memories of the person who passed away you imagine a field of daisies, place a bouquet of fresh daisies on the grave. If your emotions require a bouquet Red roses, do just that, because only your heart can tell you the right choice of colors.

Or to memorial steles, divided into artificial and living. Artificial flowers include composition wreaths decorated with buds and ribbons, imitation Christmas tree branches, baskets with plastic or paper flowers, bouquets of various colors. Artificial flowers are durable and can last for a long time outdoors.

Flowers and wreaths

You should not buy wreaths or bouquets of bright artificial flowers; it is better to choose more subdued tones, for example, burgundy or purple colors.

Bouquets of dark red roses are laid on the graves of untimely departed people, this is a symbol of living blood and sorrow.

Of the fresh flowers that are traditionally considered mourning:
- white lilies,
- chrysanthemums,
- red carnations,
- dark red roses.

White lilies characterize purity and inviolability; they are a sincere and kind attitude towards people. They are usually placed on the graves of young women.

With the help of red carnations, you will express your respect for a person; it is not for nothing that these flowers are popular when laid at various monuments; this is precisely what they signify gratitude.

Placed on bouquets of white chrysanthemums will symbolize sincerity, friendly feelings and openness. These flowers are brought to deceased friends.

Compositions

It is not customary to bring wreaths to a grave on or on the same day; you can buy flower arrangements from fresh or artificial flowers. It is worth remembering that there must be an even number of colors in the composition. Flowers should be placed on the grave with the bud towards the head.

Cut flowers will symbolize inanimate beauty, farewell.

Many people opt for artificial wreaths, as they will not deteriorate as quickly as real flowers. However, if a grave or memorial is being cared for, then fresh flowers will be appropriate, because dried ones will be quickly removed.

When buying flowers, rely on your feelings, the emotions that you want to express in relation to the departed person. If you cannot attend the funeral ceremony, then a basket of flowers for your home, again in restrained cold shades expressing grief, would be appropriate. Without unnecessary details in the form decorative ornaments, laconicism is perfect for decorating just such a bouquet, which is intended to support the relatives of the deceased.

Funerals always become a terrible shock for close friends and relatives of the deceased, even if we're talking about about the death of an old or seriously ill person. It is extremely difficult to observe traditions in such circumstances, but you need to try to do this, paying attention Special attention flowers that will be brought to the coffin and placed on the grave.

What bouquet is appropriate to bring to a funeral?

It is advisable to choose a bouquet from an even number of flowers, not exceeding 12. Of course, it is doubtful that anyone will count the plants, but it is still worth observing the tradition. Also pay attention to the design of the bouquet. The best option is to bring individual flowers, not fastened together, since all collected bouquets will still be mixed and arranged first in and then on. There is another option - tied with black tape. Decorations, and even modest ones, are allowed only in baskets and wreaths.

Choose carefully color scheme bouquet. There are two important rules. Firstly, under no circumstances should you choose colorful compositions. Secondly, it is advisable to give preference to white, red, blue, purple, burgundy shades, but not yellow, orange, pink, and cream. If you knew the deceased very well, and he was a person close to you, pick him up suitable shade- it will be good symbol your memory, respect and love.

What flowers to choose for a funeral

Red and burgundy roses are often brought. There is a certain symbolism in this. Such flowers will mean either love, or blood relationship, or that the person lived a difficult life and died very hard, but now his torment is over, and there is no more pain for him. Red carnations have a similar meaning and are also suitable for funerals.

If you want to show respect to or show that he was an honest, sincere person with a pure soul and thoughts, choose lilies and violets. The same flowers should be laid on a clergyman or a deeply religious person.

Often plants are also chosen that symbolize rebirth or eternal life. In particular, we are talking about irises: these flowers with dark buds will mean that the deceased remains to live in the hearts of their loved ones. It is appropriate to complement any bouquet with willows, symbolizing the transition to another world and its eternal life. You can use any number of branches at your discretion - their number may not be even.

Also good option there will be the use of sprigs of cypress, yew or thuja to complement the flowers. They will also mean the life of the soul, its rebirth in another body or in another world, as well as respect, love for the deceased and grief associated with his death.

Flowers accompany people not only throughout life, but even after death. For days of remembrance and mourning, there are special flower arrangements that are used to express respect and love for loved ones who have left this world.

Instructions

IN European countries most often they bring flowers yellow color, since it is considered the color of separation and sadness. In Russia and neighboring countries, flowers of red, blue and white are considered appropriate, while yellow is perceived as an inappropriate shade due to its excessive brightness.

White and other flowers are usually brought to the funerals of young people or children, since this color symbolizes purity and tenderness. The older the deceased, the more dark shade colors are acceptable. Purple, blue, dark red flowers are considered the most suitable options.

The holiday is approaching Great Victory. This year it is planned to be celebrated on a special scale. This is the seventieth anniversary of the complete defeat of Hitler's armies.

According to tradition, it is the Eternal Flame at the Tomb Unknown Soldier will become a place of pilgrimage for those who remember the exploits of Russian soldiers. Since 1967, when it was solemnly delivered from Leningrad from the Field of Mars, this place has been a symbol of the Great Victory.

For almost fifty years, there has been a tradition of laying flowers annually on May 9, Victory Day. In 2010, another Eternal Flame was lit in Moscow at the memorial on Poklonnaya Hill. Crowds of people with bouquets, baskets and wreaths flock to these monuments, many coming from other cities.

Flowers - a tribute of respect and memory

From the very morning, even before the start holiday parade On Red Square, people flock to the Eternal Flame to honor the memory of the fallen and express admiration for their courage and valor. Everyone carries flowers. Almost every family suffered a loss in those years; the grandfathers and great-grandfathers of today’s young people died in the Great Patriotic War. This day is a day of sorrow and joy.

IN last years there was even a tradition. On Victory Day, young people gather at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with candles in their hands and stand watch along with the guard of honor until late in the evening. In addition to a small light, young people always hold flowers in their hands.

Scarlet flowers are a symbol of shed blood and perseverance

What buds would be appropriate for such a significant event? You can lay red carnations with deep meaning. It is these austere flowers that many associate with Victory Day.

Persistent scarlet buds are a symbol of courage and blood shed by soldiers on the battlefields. The carnation expresses fierce struggle and crushing victory. At the same time, a bouquet, basket, wreath or arrangement of blood-scarlet carnations is a worthy and very elegant offering to heroes. It is customary to give these flowers to elderly veterans, because the buds are also “long-livers.”

This solemn and mournful holiday is associated with red flowers. Therefore, a luxurious basket of red roses would also be quite appropriate. Beautiful scarlet buds are symbols Christendom on earth and male beauty, martyrdom for a just cause and charity.

Especially for this holiday, florists decorate the compositions with the traditional St. George's ribbon and laurel, an evergreen plant symbolizing victory. The bouquet can be composed in the form of a star or an eternal flame.

This year the seventieth anniversary of the Great Victory will be solemnly celebrated, so the bouquets should be especially luxurious. According to tradition, an even number of buds, wreaths or huge baskets are placed at the monuments. Don’t skimp, pay tribute to all those who provided you with a peaceful sky above your head and gave their lives for it.

andy, 3 years, 11 months ago