Apr
5
2012
Geraniums
Posted in Holy Week 12 Comments
Traditions.
Sometimes they just happen.
They become more meaningful as years go by.
Sometimes they are truly understood later.
I remember a tradition my mother started when I was a little girl.
It was always a few days before Easter.
My mother would take me with her to the garden shop to buy flowers.
I loved walking by the Easter flowers, each more fragrant than the other.
Lilies, were so beautiful, with such a strong scent.
I learned the hard way not to rub against the lily stamen, since it would stain your clothes.
I loved Hyacinths…the scent of just one bloom could fill an entire room.
My mother bypassed all of the flowers that everyone else was buying and went back to the section where the annual flowers were displayed.
She had a specific plant in mind.
Up and down the rows she went, passing white ones and pink ones…
until we found just the one she wanted.
Red Geraniums.
We would leave the garden shop with twenty or more geraniums…all in clay pots.
They were neatly placed in a rectangular box, so that we could transport them home.
What are we going to do with all of these plants, Mom?
We’re going to deliver them…to your grandmother, Mrs. Fisher…
She continued her list of people that were going to receive a geranium.
We would go to each person’s house, visit a while, and give them their plant.
If they were not home, we would leave the plant at their door with a note.
How I wish I knew what she had written.
It was a lovely afternoon.
Each person seemed so happy to receive their geranium.
She always bought one extra…just for us.
We finished our rounds and I remember asking her,
Why does it have to be red, Mom?
Because it’s Good Friday.
She probably explained more than I remember now…all these years later.
Then again, maybe that was all she said.
Maybe that was enough.
It was a tradition we shared every year.
But it wasn’t until much later, I understood the significance of what we did.
Good Friday.
The day that always seemed to get a little cloudier between 12:00 and 3:00.
The day of the red geranium.
The day our precious Lord Jesus had told his disciples about.
We are going up to Jerusalem and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles who will mock Him, and spit on Him, flog Him and kill Him. Three days later He will rise. (Mark 10:33, 34)
Our Lord Jesus, flogged by Roman soldiers, not the thirty nine times that Jewish law required, but unlimited times…until the flesh hung off His back. The dreaded flagellum was used…a whip of leather thongs, plaited with pieces of bone or lead, forming a chain.
Blood…lots of blood.
Our Lord Jesus was given a purple robe, that they placed on His raw shoulders.
Hail King of the Jews, they mocked.
The robe would stick to His wet blood that would soon cake dry.
Our Lord Jesus was given a crown of thorns.
Much like the gilded wreath of leaves the Hellenistic kings wore on their heads.
Mocking the King of Kings…
Blood dripping down his forehead.
Our Lord Jesus was nailed to the cross.
His Hands and His feet forever bearing the scars of His love.
Blood dripping down to the ground below.
Our Lord Jesus whose side was pierced.
Immediately blood and water flowed out.
A fountain of forgiveness flowing down.
The law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. (Hebrews 9:22)
The cross that was meant for us.
In our place…a substitute.
A scapegoat.
His blood for ours.
It is finished.
Blood shed…so there could be forgiveness.
A day to give red geraniums…
Then I saw a Lamb looking as if it had been slain…You are worthy to take the scroll and open its seals, because You were slain, and with Your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. (Revelation 5: 6, 9)
Bought my Red geraniums for Holy Thursday. My mother too taught me this tradition from her Polish roots. I have been doing this for decades! God Bless!
How lovely, Jane! Thank you for letting me know!
Have a Blessed Easter.
Gina
Thank you! My Mom also bought red geraniums but on Holy Thursday to give to her children.I now understand the spiritually deep symbolism of the flowers. It is to remind us of all the blood shed by our dear Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who suffered throughout His Passion and Death. I appreciate you sharing your memory of this tradition.
Joan,
I am delighted that you were blessed.
It is a very special memory for me.
Giving red geraniums meant so much more than I realized as a child.
Have a Blessed Easter.
Gina
Thank you for sharing. My mother also passed this tradition down to our family. However our tradition is that we had to purchase the red geranium ourselves. However, thank you so much for the meaning behind this tradition! It is very much appreciated. I will pass this information to the rest of my family. God Bless you!
Georgette,
How wonderful that your mother passed this tradition down to you as well.
It is a sweet memory that is permanently etched in my heart.
Easter Blessings to you.
Gina
Thank you my mother always made us buy red geraniums for family and friends.
How lovely, Mary!
The memory must mean so much to you.
I know it meant so much to me.
Easter Blessings to you.
Gina
Thank you for sharing with us. My mother always said I should have a red geranium on Good Friday for luck but this meaning makes my red geranium mean so much more to me now.
Karen,
I am delighted that you were blessed. I am also touched that your mother had the same tradition of getting red geraniums on Good Friday. Now we each can remember the tradition fondly and know the reason why.
Blessings,
Regina
My family has done this tradition for decades, but it was never really explained to us why. Some family members said that it was a tradition that we only did; yet, I knew there was more to it. Thank you for this posting. God Bless.
Thoria,
I am so delighted that this story brought back memories for you. I am also glad that it gave you some insight as to the reason why the geraniums had to be red! Blessings to you.
Gina