Why do people send flowers when people die?

Maybe I'm just too practical or maybe I'm just a heartless b*tch. If the person who died is already dead, what good are the flowers to him? If the person who died is over 80, why is that a sad thing? he has lived a long life. The sad deaths are the ones who die young.

Maybe the flowers are for the surviving relatives as a gesture of consolation? But why flowers?

I have seen survivors do the "in lieu of flowers..." bit but even that is questionable as to the purpose. The guy's dead. Maybe the gift to a charity in the name of the decedent is a good 'christian' gesture. Maybe. But why wait till the guy is dead for that matter?

If the decedent's survivors are clearly going to be in a difficult financial state, I can see donating money to THEM. I don't get the flowers or the charity thing. If the survivors don't need the cash, and I live too far away to come to the funeral, a card or a sincere phone call of condolence would suffice.

Maybe I am missing something here. Maybe it's my non-religious views that prevent me from seeing it from a different perspective.

I really want to know and if you have a non-stupid comment, I'd like to hear it.

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Jennifer
90 350sdl

I'll bet that back in the olden days it covered the aroma of decomposing flesh. It morphed into a tradition.

Good one, sort of like the developement of perfumes to mask body odor.

However with my dim,Hobbesian view of human nature I was ready to ascribe it to the florist industry,in league with funeral directors.

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Flowers have been used for celebrations ever since celebrations began, and back in the day death was a big celebration.

I agree with the aroma concept, the ancient Egyptians used aromatic oil potions during the mummification process, they even did it to the sacred cows. I think the Greeks also covered the corpse with oils before the ceremony as well.

So, you've met my brother in law I take it?

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One more little tid bit, Orchids were grown used by the Greeks in death, Orchids also used to be the traditional “death flower” right?

help me out here I just switched to Sanka this is an interesting topic.

I'll bet Google is heavily laden with necrological data. Some strong heart should take the plunge.

The original reason for laying flowers beside a loved one's headstone has been long forgotten.

Nowadays, I suspect that it's more for the living than the dead. Anyone visiting the gravesite who see flowers by certain headstones know that the deceased has not been forgotten and is still in the minds of the surviving loved ones...

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2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car

Maybe they are just pretty and take your mind off the dead people.

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1985 380SE Blue/Blue - 230,000 miles
2012 Subaru Forester 5-speed
2005 Toyota Sienna
2004 Chrysler Sebring convertible
1999 Toyota Tacoma

It's a pagan fertility rite. Like a maypole.

I once wrote a paper on funeral customs. It’s a huge topic. Remnants of flowers have been found at burial sites dating back well over 50 thousand years. In part, as suggested above, flowers are used to cover odors, in part they have been used as preservatives, and in part they are representative or symbolic of a life span. Few objects can touch the eyes, heart and spirit as do flowers. They are among nature’s most spectacular and unique creations. In their all too quick growth, bloom and decay many perceive the full scope of life, if only in a microcosm.

In some cultures, using flowers at a grave site is considered an ill omen, but for most, flowers are simply a token of sympathy.

On a broader topic, the employment of flowers in figurative representation has grown from being a mere ornate background to a dedicated genre, and everything in between. Perhaps the first great and often unacknowledged master of flowers was Michelangelo, he frequently and subtly employed the shape of flowers in his sculpture. Thus uniting the concept of flowers with spirituality and by extension, being symbolic of rebirth. This kind of implied symbolism is part of what gave rise to so-called Genre art. The first master of Genre art was attributed to Peter Bruegel. His son, who went by the name of Flowers Bruegel was considered on of the first naturalist

So in summary, we use flowers at funerals because it is a long established custom. And they look cool.

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...Tracy

'00 ML320 "Casper"
'92 400E "Stella"

It seems to me more of a token of respect for the survivors than anything, a way of saying, yes, I knew and cared about your loved one, too, and you're not alone.

For that matter, attending the funeral (or even having a funeral) doesn't do the dead any good -- why not just toss them into an unmarked pit or hang them in trees for birds to dispose of? It's for the living.

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http://webwench.net/albums/new83-300...1700.thumb.jpg
1983 300D-T
348,000 miles

I usually send a live plant instead of cut flowers. The familys usually appreciate the thought and get to keep the plant as a momento.

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95 SL500 Smoke Silver, Parchment 64K
07 E350 4matic Station Wagon White 34K
02 E320 4Matic Silver/grey 80K
05 F150 Silver 44K

All I know is that ever since the passing of my father seven years ago, I associate the smell of many flowers with his death. Our family spent about $800 on flowers for the funeral on top of what was brought by family and friends. It hasn't been until recently that I can walk into a flower shop without feeling a bit uncomortable.

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Current:
2014 VW Tiguan SEL 4Motion 43,000 miles.

2016 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport (wife's).

Past:
2006 Jetta TDI 135,970 miles. Sold Nov. '13.
1995 E-320 Special Edition. 220,200 miles. Sold Sept. '07.
1987 190-E 16 valve. 153,000 miles. Sold Feb. '06.
1980 300-D 225,000 miles. Donated to the National Kidney Foundation.
1980 240-D manual, 297,500 miles. Totaled by inattentive driver.

From the children's rhyme used to describe the plague in Europe . . .

"a pocket full of poseys" was used to mask the odor of they dead and dying in the city by grabbing a handful of petals and holding them to your face as you walked past.