The blue carnation symbolizes peace and serenity, genuine love and commitment, spirituality, originality, love, mystery, and fascination.
Blue carnations are a relatively new flower. They don’t grow naturally, and they don’t have much history. For that reason, the symbolism and traditions associated with this flower appeared recently.
When Should You Use Blue Carnations?
Carnations are the birth flower for individuals born in January and the traditional flower for first wedding anniversaries.
Carnations are perfect gifts for many occasions in many cultures worldwide, including birthday and anniversary flowers.
Blue carnations are great gifts for someone who is very original and creative. They denote genuine love and commitment in wedding decorations or anniversary gifts. They also evoke peace and calm.
Since the color blue often symbolizes masculinity in Western cultures, you can use blue carnations to celebrate a baby shower for a baby boy.
What does the Blue Carnation Symbolize?
1. Peace and Serenity
Because of their associations with the sky and water, blue flowers evoke tranquility, calm, and peace across ages and civilizations.
2. Genuine Love and Commitment
Many couples choose blue as a theme for their wedding because it symbolizes love and commitment that’s genuine and long-term (compared to red, which is short-term passion).
In these circumstances, couples may include blue carnations as a symbol of commitment and genuine love.
Similarly, a husband may give blue carnations to his wife as a sign of his long-standing commitment to her.
Related: Blue Flame Symbolism
3. Spirituality
Blue has a connection with Heaven, immortality, and spirituality in various Eastern traditions.
In several parts of the Middle East, blue often represents Heaven and spirituality. In Judaism, it is a symbol of holiness.
For that reason, blue flowers can also symbolize spirituality.
4. Originality
Blue is a rare color in nature. That makes a blue flower the perfect gift for someone innovative or creative. It can represent their own originality and the fact you think of them as a one of a kind.
Related: Blue Poppy Symbolism
5. Love
Carnations are also a symbol of love in addition to being a symbol of devotion. Carnations are a lovely present for various events such as Mother’s Day, birthdays, and anniversaries.
Unlike red flowers, blue flowers can symbolize love in all its forms, not just passionate romantic love. It can be used for familial love, romantic love, or the love of a friend.
6. Mystery
In various cultures, blue is the color of the unknown. A single blue flower symbolizes mystery and is a popular gift to express to someone that you consider them to be mysterious and exceptional.
7. Fascination
Carnations are also associated with fascination since they are intriguing and engaging to look at. For ages, they appeared in poetry, paintings, and music. If you send someone a bouquet of gorgeous carnations, you are telling that person you think they are fascinating!
What Are Carnations?
Carnations, or Dianthus caryophyllus in technical terms, is a Dianthus species flower. It’s famous for its truffle-like flowers, fragrant aroma, and extended flowering time.
The carnation has been popularly used as a decoration for about 2,000 years, and its name was first referenced in Greek literature around 2,000 years ago. However, the blue carnation is not old, and is fact a fake flower where the white carnation is dipped in blue dye.
What Does The Word “Carnation” Mean?
Some believe that the word “Carnation,” comes from the Latin “corona-ae.” Carnations are one of the flowers used in ceremonial crowns or arts and decorating in Greek and Roman times, therefore it denotes “wreath, garland, chaplet, crown.”
It’s also said to have come from the Roman word “corone,” which means “flower,” or the Latin word “caro,” which means “flesh.” However, it might be a reference to the flower’s natural color, or it could be a reference to the term “incarnatio” in Christian imagery, which implies “incarnation” of God in the flesh.
The Greek botanist Theophrastus coined the term Dianthus by combining the Ancient Greek words “Dios” (divine) and “Anthos” (flower), resulting in “Dianthus.” Sometimes, people call carnation blooms the “Flowers of God.” The name “caryophyllus” comes from a combination of the Greek words “Karya” (walnut tree) and “Phyllon” (leaf).
Grenadines and clove pinks are other names for carnations. When Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus described the flower in volume one of his Species Plantarum book in 1753, the name “Carnation” became official.
The Meaning of Carnations in Christianity
The carnation first appeared after Christ’s Crucifixion, according to Roman tradition. The Carnation blossoms sprang from mother Mary’s tears that fell to the ground, bolstering the belief that the word “incarnation” comes from the flower’s name.
The Meaning of Carnations in the Victorian Era
People used flowers to transmit a “coded message” in the Victorian era, and carnations were popular. A solid-colored carnation indicated “yes,” a striped carnation meant “I’m sorry, I’m unable to be with you,” and a yellow carnation meant “no.”
The Meaning of Carnations in Ancient Greece
According to tradition, the goddess Diana was in love with the shepherd boy. However, for whatever reason, he turned her down. It prompted Diana to take his eyes out and throw them on the ground, where they sprouted into a Dianthus flower.
The Significance of Carnations in Eastern Cultures
In Korean culture, this flower frequently appears to predict the fortunes of young girls. They will place the three newly cut Carnation flowers on the girl’s hair, and the little girl will have to keep track of which flower dies first.
If the top one dies first, it implies she will have a difficult life.
If the middle one dies first, it implies she will have a difficult childhood.
And If the lower one dies first, she will suffer significant difficulties throughout her life.
Carnation flowers are the most popular flower in wedding rituals in Chinese culture, as they represent love.
The red carnation commonly symbolizes affection in Japanese culture on Mother’s Day. Carnations are the official flowers for Mother’s Day in the United States and are common in prom corsages and other special occasions. On St. Patrick’s Day, they also use the green carnation.
The Significance of Carnations in Europe
White carnation flowers are famous in the Netherlands to honor World War II veterans and their resistance. The purple carnation flower is the traditional funeral flower in France. On May Day, the red carnation is commonly used in several nations to symbolize the labor movement and socialism.
Carnations are the national flowers of Monaco, Slovenia, Spain, and Ohio, among others. It’s also said to be a sign for several sororities and fraternities.
Where Do Blue Carnations Come From?
Blue carnations are not like other carnations with a long history. A group of Australian scientists created these blooms in 1997. Blue carnations, often known as “Moondust Carnations,” are violet-blue carnations that bloom in a violet-blue tint. While blue carnations may not have the same explicit meanings as other carnations, blue often symbolizes serenity, tranquillity, spirituality, and truth in flowers.
Are Blue Carnations found in Nature?
Blue carnations are a type of flower that does not exist in nature anywhere in the world.
The classical carnation colors are red, pink, and white. People gradually realized that changing the color of the flowers was as simple as dipping them in food coloring and water.
Florists began dipping white carnations in dyed blue water in the 1970s to produce exciting and unique colors to sell and enjoy.
Conclusion
Carnations symbolized love in many different cultures around the world. However, blue carnations have the same significance as other carnations but have more meanings associated with the color.
Since blue is a rare color in nature, this plant denotes originality and innovation. It’s a lovely gift for many occasions such as weddings, anniversaries, and first dates.
I’m Chris and I run this website – a resource about symbolism, metaphors, idioms, and a whole lot more! Thanks for dropping by.