Every year in early June I would receive some lotus flowers’ photos from my father which he took in my hometown. Once I saw the flowers, I knew that he went to check on that lotus pond again and I felt that I could almost smell these flowers’ unique fragrance.
According to Chinese custom, going outdoors to watch blooming flowers is a common activity regardless of the season, location, or whether you are alone or accompanied. Often people travel across the country just to admire some particular flowers’ bloom, such as tree peonies in Luoyang city, or Apricot flowers in Yili, Xinjiang.
Flowers have blended into Chinese people’s lives for thousands of years, from their daily diets to cosmetic ingredients, from the garments they wear to the buildings they design. There are many types of flower festivals hosted in China each year, reminding people, especially those who live in cities, about the changing of the season, and that except for the trivia filling in our days, beauty remains.
Besides, flowers also formed an important part of the culture and evolved--the stories, the paintings, the music; and how many people named their children especially the girls after their beloved flowers or plants? The flowers have become symbolic of the merits they wish they can inherit: Prunus mume represents toughness and tolerance; orchid means sophistication and being humble; peony implies prosperity and beauty…
Beyond that, ancient Chinese even assigned each month (by Lunar calendar, which is usually one month later than it stated compared to the common calendar we use) with a signature flower of that season just to address their personal attachment. Here is the list, and some of them have been used as the embroideries on our garments for both men and women 😃:
January-Daffodil
February-Apricot Blossom
March-Peach Blossom
April-Tree Peony (You can see them in our garments as Yellow Yao)
May-Pomegranate Blossom
June-Lotus
July-Hosta
August-Osmanthus
September-Chrysanthemum (Our design captures this flower as Captain Chrysanthemum)
October-Hibiscus
November-Camellia (We picked the symbolic tea flower and named it Tea x Happiness)
December-Prunus Mume (It’s also called Mei Flower for our coming new products of FW25)
(Please note that the months stated here are all by Lunar calendar, which is usually one month earlier compared to the common calendar we use; and due to different zones and plant cultivars, the actual blooming time may vary.)
So, if you were born in May, your Lunar month most likely should be April thus your flower is tree peony. Sounds interesting, right? Why not find out what your month flower is, then find a nice day-- let’s go out observing some beautiful flowers.
By the way, it’s July; it’s lotus season. We will post a video shortly showing you the glamorous lotus growing in West Lake in Hangzhou city. I bet you will love it. Stay tuned! 👊