Crushed into potpourri, blended into perfumes or infused into a wedding celebration, the lilac subtly multitasks as a color, a flower, and a fragrance! How cool!
Lilacs also pack a pop of symbolism, too. Here’s a little “lilac symbolism through the ages” in a nutshell, for you on-the-go brides-to-be …
- Purple lilacs symbolize love – first love actually.
- The ancient Greeks have a mythology thing about lilac symbolism. A” god of the forest” named Pan ran across a beautiful nymph named Syringa while wandering in the woods one day. He thought she was “hot” and tried to chase her down, I guess to get her number or something. This freaked her out, and she ran (who’d blame her) . Sadly she was so freaked out that she turned into “an aroma bush of lilac” (is this not a little unbelievable?). Pan was bummed. He was also, apparently, a wood-god pretty close to his emotions, so he started crying and ran around doing good forever-after which somehow caused the word” Syringa” to become the Latin word for lilac. Whew! Now you know.
- Herbal lore credits lilacs astrologically as the flower of Gemini, the Twins, and as evoking the root energy of expansion and growth, as well as giving it the power to communicate love through delight. That one I can live with.
- Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman, two literary rock-stars of Victorian verse, waxed poetical about lilacs. Ms. Emily compared lilacs, “an ancient shrub”, to the rich hues of sunset and viewed the color as a symbol of royalty. And Mr. Whitman, well, he wrote a long poem about lilacs and the death of Abraham Lincoln (of all things), and since this is a “nutshell” report, let’s just say the the rich colors and shapes of the lilac bush gave him hope for the future in a rather dreary time (which is a HUGE theme in Victorian literature – HUGE).
So basically, lilacs are awesomely pretty and have caught the eye of people, worldwide, forever. And they conjure up associations with new love, energy and growth. Nice!
For now, let’s focus on the color, since I’m all about weddings anyway. Did you know that Lilac makes a FABulous color for Winter Weddings? Paired with ivory creaminess or silky silver, it brings a vintage Victorian flavor wedding theme. Here – just look at some of the combinations!
Versatile as a color, fragrant as a flower, and a symbol of the first blush of love – lilacs add an elegant mystique to any wedding party.
Hope you enjoyed!
