January Birth Flowers: Meanings and Symbolism
Apr 09, 2021
1746
Updated Nov 13, 2024
The winter is not only a much-awaited season for its festive Christmas and New Year holidays. If you're happened to be born in one of the frosty months, the joyous celebration continues with more parties, greetings, presents, and tons of emotions! How to charge a holiday with extra magic and symbolism when someone's January birthday is coming up? We've prepared an amazing selection of some January birth flowers exactly for this purpose.
Not everyone knows that each month of the year has its own flower as a hallmark, driven by natural reasons (like temperature conditions typical for their flowering time) and some special symbolism. Consult this guide on picking the perfect bouquet of January birth flowers to show the recipient that you have a knack for ingenious presents with a personal touch! You will be choosing between majestic carnations and delicate snowdrops.
Carnation Flower Meaning
Why are carnations called like that? You wouldn't be wrong assuming that it's somehow connected with the word "coronation" as apparently the flowers were used in making chaplets. The other version states that the name was given because of the crown-like petals. The word’s origins are still not exact, but either way, it doesn’t make the flower’s aesthetics less striking!
Carnations have an interesting history of being used for medical purposes to cure upset stomach and fever. Because of their rich fragrance, carnations were the main element for making different sauces, wine, vinegar and beer. But that’s not the flower meaning you can amaze a birthday-person with, right?
Carnations Color Symbolism
Same as other blossoms, carnations are very diverse in colors, so it wouldn't hurt knowing what is hidden under this or that shade.
You wouldn't be wrong, saying that the red color is always associated with romance and affection. However, carnations have a myriad of shades inside one color, and red is not an exception. Sticking with dark red would mean that you're passionate and head over heels in love with the person these flowers are meant for, while light red carnations emphasize care and admiration.
Pink carnations imply nothing but motherly love, tenderness, gratefulness and are well-known as Mother's Day flowers. Not hard to be, because according to the Christian legend, the first pink carnations on Earth were blooming when Jesus carried the cross. Every teardrop Mother Mary shed on the way gave birth to one new pink carnation. Thus, the color pink represents protective and everlasting motherly love.
Despite their offbeat and luminous color, yellow carnations have earned their notoriety for being symbols of disappointment or even rejection. Sometimes they're sent to someone as a way of saying "I'm sorry". All in all, if you're absolutely sure your recipient likes yellow and doesn't know the flip side of this color when applied to carnations, go for it! Or you can always order a composition with only a few bright spots of yellow carnations beaming.
Ineffable and gorgeous white carnations symbolize purity of thoughts and intentions, innocence. What is a lesser-known fact about them is that white carnations are usually presented to wish good luck! Consider them as January birth flowers to draw fortune and success to your friends and relatives.
Carnations In Holidays and Events
You can put more meaning into your carnations arrangements, armed with some curious facts about this beautiful January birth flower.
In 1914 it was proclaimed the official flower of Mother's Day;
The carnation flower is the traditional wedding flower while in France its mostly given at funerals;
Being the symbol of socialism, red carnations are worn on May Day as a symbol of the labor movement in some countries;
As the Oxford University tradition, carnations are worn during the exams: white flowers for the first one, pink for the period in between, and red for the last examination.
Snowdrop January Birth Flowers
Also known under the Latin name of Galanthus and "milk flower" in Greek, snowdrops are usually unfairly overshadowed by carnations as flowers for January. Still, if you get to know them better, you see their prodigious potential as a birthday bouquet. These white droopy-shaped flowers bloom in the winter between January and March as the heralds of new life, rebirth and new beginnings. The French have a very accurate name for this flower — "perce-neige," literally meaning "something that pierces the snow," the signs of a warm spring starting to kick in. It's fascinating to observe the contrast between the fragile green snowdrop bulbs emerging through the layer of snow. The meadows of white snowdrop carpets are a must-see wonder of nature!
If you can't afford to visit a place where these miraculous flowers grow, there's a reasonable alternative — order a lush arrangement for your friend's or family member's birthday! As for the symbolism, these flowers mean purity, youth, innocence and power to overcome difficulties.
Interesting Facts About Snowdrops
After being banished by God from the Garden of Eden, Eve was miserable because of the endless winters. So an angel came to comfort her and turned the snowflake into a snowdrop, showing that winter won’t last forever and there’s always hope for the best;
The Victorians had a habit to plant snowdrops on graveyards, that’s why in some cultures this flower can be considered to be a bit of bad luck and are not allowed to bring in the house;
Another legend tells a story of God creating snow to harvest flowers' color every year but snowdrops refused to do it and made a deal with God: they would be the first blooming flowers after the winter in exchange for giving up their color.
Famous January Birthdays
Mel Gibson, actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter, January 3, 1956;
Benjamin Franklin, The Founding Father of the United States, January 17, 1706;
Ellen DeGeneres, comedian, television host, actress, and writer, January 26, 1958;
Oprah Winfrey, talk show host, television producer, and author, January 29, 1954;
Christian Bale, actor, January 30, 1974;
Justin Timberlake, singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer, January 31, 1981.
