Lillies - flower of death?

[Alannah]

Is it true that lillies are traditionally given when some one has died? Or related to death in anyway. A kind of mourning flower?

[Greedyfly]

Yes and no - I think the flower represents Peace. So it is sometimes given as a funeral flower but also given in general.

[Caladon]

in christian art the lily is chastity, innocence and purity, but also peace. at a friends wedding there were lillies on the dining tables...the bride told me it was for purity in the marriage. but i doubt this is an offical reason!

[mikewall01]

In the Russian Federation countries lillies are always given as a sign of sympathy for any reason including bereavement. They also give flowers in even numbers for sympathy reasons.

[FredPuli]

This seems to be an American practice too. For example in Way Out West (a Laurel and Hardy film; that well known reference point for US culture !) . to claim an inheritance a girl impostor has to persuade them that she is the rightful heiress, recently informed of the death; so she enters sadly, carrying an enormous bouquet of white longiflorum lilies; this incongruous prop is evidently meant to support the deception that she is in mourning at the news.

[coggles]

Although many people associate lilies with death and funerals, they are my favourite flowers. We do vary what fresh flowers we have at home, but more often than not, it is a beautiful vase of lilies that is in the centre of the dining table. Their scent is wonderful.

[Cetti]

Alannah - Only since Christmas have I started to buy lilies. My Mother would never have them in the house as she said they were always associated with death, so naturally that's how I also saw them. I first bought a bunch of white ones and as coggles says the smell was so beautiful that they've now become my favourite flower - and the fear has been obliterated.

[Hamish]

I had always speculated that the strong pleasent smell was perhase why they were associated with death. In the past they may have been used because they would cover the initial bad smells associated with a decaying body. Can anyone confirm/refute this?

[FredPuli]

Possible but care is needed 'Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds' ( Shakespeare ; sonnet 94) ! Not unkown in lilies and lily type plants. There's rafflesia arnoldii which shows the opposite, too. The stinking corpse lily' attracts pollinating insects by smelling just like decaying flesh; it's also the world's laregest flower. To hide smells of decay our ancestors were fond of spreading aromatic plants or dried herbs, such as lavender, on the floor so even the act of walkking on them released a perfume. The scent of the lily pre-fester might have been a more luxurious option but for year round and for greater effect that old method seems more likely somehow.