Homefree spins on sign up no deposit How Marigolds Became a Flower for Weddings and Funerals
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CreditCredit...10 Flowers, 10 PlacesCountries and regions around the world where flowers play a vital role — in cultural and religious traditions, the economy and daily life.A closer look at lotuses in Sri Lanka, amaranths in Peru, roses in Oman, marigolds in India, waterlilies in Vietnam, saffron in Kashmirfree spins on sign up no deposit, jasmine in Egypt, orchids in Papua New Guinea, proteas in South Africa and azaleas in Japan.
In the holy Indian city of Varanasi, the bodies of the dead are draped in garlands of marigolds before being cremated on the banks of the Ganges River. According to Hindu teachings, marigolds embody purity, strength and new beginnings, which means that they feature in rituals of all kinds, from political rallies to sacred festivals to weddings. In cities and towns across India, vendors display them heaped into small mountains or strung into ropes, which are used to adorn the necks of newlyweds or to embellish ceremonial altars. The petals can also be dried into a digestion-aiding tea or simmered in water to make a natural dye.
Slide 1 of 6 1/6Marigolds on the Ganges River in the holy city of Varanasi.
Credit...Keerthana Kunnath
Marigolds on the Ganges River in the holy city of Varanasi.
Credit...Keerthana Kunnath
An aarti lamp, held by priests for religious ceremonies along the ghats, or riverfront steps.
Credit...Keerthana Kunnath
Negotiations in the Varanasi flower market start as early as 3 a.m.
Credit...Keerthana Kunnath
Two women enjoying a quiet morning on the Ganges.
Credit...Keerthana Kunnath
A bather in the river.
Credit...Keerthana Kunnath
A basket of rose garlands on the bank of the Ganges. Devotees, who make annual pilgrimages to the shrines and temples of Varanasi, throw roses as well as marigolds into the river as offerings to the goddess Ganga.
Credit...Keerthana KunnathA hardy, forgiving crop, marigolds are grown across India year-round, though cultivation is most active before the major autumn festivals of Dussehra and Diwali, both of which celebrate the triumph of light over darkness. But while marigolds are emblems of Indian culture, the flower isn’t native. Though mentions of a saffron-colored blossom appear in ancient Indian scriptures and — according to the cultural historian and environmentalist Nanditha Krishna, the author of “Hinduism and Nature” (2017) — terra-cotta plaques from 300 to 100 B.C. depict people using marigold-like blooms for prayer and ritual, this flower was likely the Calendula officinalis. The marigold as we know it — Tagetes erecta — originated in what is now Mexico, where it was also an exalted flower, revered by the Aztecs as a gift from the sun god to bless the dead. (Just as the marigold helps bid farewell to the dead in India, it also figures prominently in Día de los Muertos celebrationsfree spins on sign up no deposit, where paths lined with the flower are meant to lead the souls of lost loved ones back home.) The seeds of the marigold eventually came to India via Spanish and Portuguese traders in the 16th century; the plants adapted quickly and abundantly, eventually usurping the calendula.
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