On March 8, people across the globe celebrate the women in their lives by celebrating International Women’s Day every year. Along with shopping at women-owned businesses and using that day for giving resources or money to organizations that help women, most people even follow the tradition to gift flowers on March 8. So, why are flowers important for International Women’s Day?
International Women’s Day is an UN-sanctioned global holiday that aims to acknowledge the contributions made by women to society and raise awareness of the areas that require improvements for reaching gender equality. Every year, the International Women’s Day comes with a new official theme. However, unofficially, most people use it as a day for remembering all the women who had an impact on their lives by sharing thoughtful messages, quotes, and more related to International Women’s Day.
History of International Women’s Day
The history of International Women’s Day goes back to over 100 years. This day was observed first across America and Europe. However, according to National Public Radio, it was not celebrated until March 8, 1946. This is the time when feminists selected the mimosa flower in Italy as a symbol of sensitivity, sensibility, and strength for Women’s Day.
Over the years, men and women alike have continued for giving the gift of flowers to show appreciation for the strong women in their lives. Although mimosa flowers have a distinct significance, they are not the only flowers that people give.
According to The New York Times, various flower shops sell around 150,000 roses in Russia on March 8. So, everyone can be a part of this flower-giving tradition, all you need to do is to order flowers for special women in your life or just grab a bouquet from a local florist shop and gift individual flowers to the ladies you pass throughout this special day.
How Do People Celebrate International Women’s Day Across the World?
Flowers are a perfect symbol of International Women’s Day. Most men and women from countries across the globe celebrate by delivering flowers to strong women in their lives and decorating with flower arrangements. Women and men can honor their girlfriends, wives, female colleagues, and mothers with flowers on this special day.
Russians offer a variety of flowers, especially red roses. In Italy, the most popular flowers are yellow mimosas. In Hanoi, Vietnam, it is not just husbands and boyfriends who send flowers to women in their lives, but even colleagues and bosses.
In many countries, International Women’s Day holds an equivalent significance as Mother’s Day. On this day, even children gift small presents to their grandmothers and mothers. With a bouquet of lilies, tulips, orchids, roses, etc. you cannot go wrong with sending flowers to convey how you feel about these special ladies in your life.
Why Are Flowers Important for International Women’s Day?
International Women’s Day is a day when everyone celebrated the journey of Women’s Rights. At the same time, we all continue the fight to achieve full equality for women across the globe. In addition to that, society has come to see this special day as a time for giving thanks for all the women in their lives who are dear to them, for celebrating with them, for showing their love.
There are lots of ways in which we can commemorate and honor the day, like donating to refuge charities of women, spending time with the women in our lives, and even joining in the political rallies. Also, it has become a custom that men and women across the world will take part in the tradition of giving flowers.
On International Women’s Day, many people have become accustomed to this flower-giving tradition, where they ought to gift flowers to all the important ladies in their lives as a token of their love and appreciation towards them.
How Did This Tradition Begin?
It is quite difficult to answer how this tradition started. As long as one can remember, giving flowers has always been a perfect way to express affection and love. However, some believe that it turned out to be on March 8, 1946.
On March 8, 1946, Italian feminists selected the mimosa flower and declared the same a symbol of women’s sensitivity, sensibility, and strength, as stated above. From then on, most people used to offer women this particular flower on every International Women’s Day.
So, International Women’s Day was officially assigned for celebrating women and also, their empowerment, strength, and all the things they do for the people they love. This tradition of gifting flowers expanded and emerged, where now people give all sorts of flower arrangements as a customary gesture on this special day.
International Women’s Day Now
Today, giving flowers is a significant aspect of International Women’s Day, particularly in the likes of Ukraine and Russia. These countries and various other Eastern European ones celebrate this day heavily. In fact, some countries have declared a national holiday on March 8.
Women’s rights have come so far today. In developed countries, such as the United Kingdom, the United States, and Ireland, most women live great lives and do not get subjected to major inequality. But, gender divides prevail with palpable bias and pay gaps towards at the workplace. In various industries, gender discrimination still plays a prominent role. Still, other less developed countries have a long way to go.
This International Women’s Day, celebrate with the beautiful ladies in your life. However, why not give some flowers for bringing a little extra light to their lives that you are extremely grateful for. Flowers will definitely bring a smile on their beautiful faces. It is not necessary to buy mimosa flowers on this day. You can gift their favorite flowers, a bouquet or an individual bloom that you should decide. So, give flowers to all the beautiful and strong women in your life on this International Women’s Day and show the love and care you feel for them.
