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The Surprising Meaning Behind Easter Lilies

Christianity’s most important holiday is rich in symbols, some secular, some religious, from the Easter bunny who brings treats and toys to children, to the Easter lily, a tall, stalky plant topped by graceful, trumpet-shaped blooms. But while the fragrant flower that fills churches and homes come Easter might seem simply a beautiful decoration welcoming springtime, over the course of its fascinating history it has come to feature a far deeper connotation. Today’s Easter lily meaning is most commonly tied to the Bible and even Jesus Christ himself.

Long ago, pagans connected the plant with motherhood and fertility—there’s a reason we give them as gifts to our moms as thanks for all that they do. There is even an ancient Greek myth which tells the tale of lilies blossoming from the milk of Hera, wife of Zeus. In Roman mythology, Venus, the goddess of love, was so envious of the lily’s beauty and purity that she caused a giant pistil to sprout from its center. Cultures across the world still see lilies as symbols of virtue, hope, grace, and innocence.

Lilies Are Frequently Found in the Bible

While commercial bulb production of Easter lilies only began in the 19th century, lilies make many appearances in both the Old and New Testaments, emphasizing the flower’s importance to Christianity. King Solomon spoke of them, and Christ referenced them, too. Mention of lilies in the Bible include:

“I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like a lily. Like a cedar of Lebanon he will send down his roots” (Hosea 14:5).

“Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these” (Luke 12:27).

Lilies Are the Symbol of Several Christian Figures

Referred to as “white-robed apostles of hope,” lilies are believed to have sprouted from the ground where Christ’s blood and tears fell during crucifixion, as well as in the Garden of Gethsemane after his betrayal. It’s also said they grew in the Garden of Eden from Eve’s anguished tears. Because they represent purity, lilies are identified with the Virgin Mary, and in artworks depicting the Annunciation to the Virgin they are often found in the angel Gabriel’s hand. The flower is also associated with the saints Anthony of Padua and Catherine of Siena.

It’s thought that Easter lilies came to symbolize Christ not only because they embody purity—the trumpet-shaped blooms recall the horns that heralded the resurrection of Christ. And the life cycle of Easter lilies, which grow from a bulb for several years beneath the earth before blossoming into magnificent flowers, recalls Jesus’ death and resurrection. What other springtime flower could possibly represent Easter and Christ better?

https://www.countryliving.com/life/inspirational-stories/a38804757/easter-lily-meaning/

This past week, I got carrots planted and potatoes in.

Next week is prepping the onion beds and hopefully getting some of them planted.

I found some 6 year old snow pea seeds and have them soaking in water to jump start them and they are sending out tiny little baby roots. I’ll be getting those in the ground today, too, and protecting them well from critters.

We’ve finally seen robins and am actually looking forward to my spring flowering bulbs to show.

I plan on starting my herb seeds today. I’m going for broke in companion planting.

Bought some new seed starting mix, Miracle Grow. Evidently it’s water repellent. Tried bottom watering the cell trays for several hours and they weighed the same, feather light. I’m watering from the top for now and plan to repot as soon as seeds sprout and get true leaves. Got some Promix instead and will pot up into that.

Nice weather, not too windy for a change. Going to burn off leaves today and get a couple of high tunnel frames welded up tomorrow using the first one that’s already done as a template. I’ll be installing the two end frames first and those will take longest with all the measuring and making sure they’re squared up. The in between ones will go pretty quick.

Discovered a local nursery. She doesn’t have much for veggies but has tons of flowers and ground cover. Nothing I need right away but eventually I do want to do some landscaping and make thing purty around here.

Picked up a peach tree and blueberry plant and plan to get more. Walmart I went to had Redhaven peach which I believe are the standard with all others being called early or late based on redhaven iirc. I’m hoping a different walmart will have a different variety. If not, I’ll just grab another redhaven. Either that or try Lowes.

The blueberry is Duke which I’d never heard of which is why I only got one. One website says best for freezing/cooking/canning. Will see if other stores have something different.

It was a mostly nice spring week here in Central Missouri. Bad storms early in the week to the north and south of here. We got some wind and rain but no hail and no twisters.

I finished the landscaping work on the east side of my pond dam yesterday. I need to pick up some clover and grass seed at the feed store today and broadcast that on the sore spot then mulch it down with some old hay. Probably wouldn't hurt to toss a bag of pelleted lime on there too.

I've got a mountain of seedlings in the greenhouse waiting on the weather. The "official" last frost date for this area is April 12, but I'm not falling for that malarkey. Over the years I've learned not to plant frost-sensitive plants outdoors before May 1st, and some years that isn't late enough.

I've also gotten into the habit of tossing the tail end of my salad greens seed packs into a small tupperware bowl for storage and forgetting what all I put in there. Now I've got a ton of this stuff, which is quite delicious, growing in the greenhouse and I don't know what it is so I used Google Lens to figure out that it's broadleaf mustard/mustard cabbage. lol