Every excuse of the year to give flowers

It was born in 2014 as #NationalBoyfriendDay and in Latin America it became the answer to yellow flowers: blue flowers and bouquets made of Hot Wheels cars wrapped in paper and ribbons.

Argentina celebrates mothers in spring, on the third Sunday of October, so it coincides with the best flower season of the southern hemisphere.

Families clean and decorate the graves of their loved ones. The chrysanthemum is the flower of the day: bringing one is a way of saying they are remembered.

The color and scent of cempasúchil mark the path of the souls to the altar (ofrenda). Its orange petals are one of the visual symbols of the celebration.

The song tells of someone who sent violets to a woman every November 9, with no card; in the end it was her own husband. On TikTok they are given to your “purple person”: someone who arrived recently and is already essential.

It has been celebrated since 1999. On social media the idea that men deserve flowers too became popular: blue roses, sunflowers or Hot Wheels bouquets to break the habit of only giving flowers to women.

The Christmas flower is Mexican: in Nahuatl it is called cuetlaxóchitl. On December 8 its origin is celebrated and the season for giving and decorating with it begins.

According to tradition, in 1531 Juan Diego carried roses from Tepeyac hill in his cloak (tilma), in the middle of December. That is why every December 12 millions of people bring roses to the Basilica.

It opens Valentine’s Week: each of the seven days before Valentine’s Day has its own theme, and the first one is for giving roses. It is everywhere in Bollywood edits and reels.

It was born in 2010 in the series Parks and Recreation, when Leslie Knope celebrates her friends the day before Valentine’s Day. Social media turned it into a real plan: breakfast, shared bouquets and a group photo.

The biggest day of the year for flowers. The red rose is the universal code for “I like you”; in several Latin American countries friendship is celebrated too, so giving flowers to friends also counts.

In Italy a sprig of mimosa has been given since 1946; in Russia and Eastern Europe tulips are typical. In Spain and Latin America 8M is above all a day of protest: if you give flowers, make them a recognition, not a substitute for listening.

It falls on Saint Joseph’s Day, the father of Jesus in Christian tradition. Flowers are not the most typical gift, but more and more people give sunflowers or a plant that lasts: a present that doesn’t wilt in a week.

The September 21 trend doubled: with spring arriving in the northern hemisphere, Mexico adopted a second yellow flowers day. Same song, same idea, different season.

Legend has it that a rosebush sprang from the blood of the dragon slain by Saint George (Sant Jordi). Barcelona fills with rose and book stalls; the book was added in the 20th century and coincides with World Book Day.

Since King Charles IX (1561), a sprig of lily of the valley has been given on May 1 to wish good luck. On that day selling muguet in the street is tolerated without a license.

In Spain it is celebrated on the first Sunday of May, the month Catholic tradition dedicates to the Virgin Mary. Carnations and peonies are the classics.

Anna Jarvis promoted the day in the USA in 1908 and chose the carnation, her mother’s favorite flower. From there it spread to much of the Americas and Europe.

In Mexico it has been a fixed date since 1922, when the newspaper Excélsior promoted the celebration. Serenade, family lunch and a bouquet that can’t be missing.

In Korea the 14th of every month has a theme for couples. May’s is roses: if you follow K-dramas or K-pop, it will sound familiar.

Mexico has celebrated its teachers every May 15 since 1918, and Colombia does so on the same day in memory of Saint John Baptist de La Salle, patron saint of teachers. A flower with a handwritten note is the most common gesture in classrooms.

Brazil’s Valentine’s Day falls on the eve of Saint Anthony’s Day, the matchmaker saint. It became popular in 1949 with an advertising campaign and today it is one of the biggest dates of the year there.

The US date, which spread to almost all of Latin America. Flowers for dad are gaining ground thanks to the “men deserve flowers too” trend: sunflowers, blue tones or a plant for the office.

It comes from the American National Girlfriend Day and on social media it works as a second Valentine’s Day. It isn’t official in any country, but florists already have it marked.

Colombia has celebrated its own Valentine’s Day in September since the 1960s. It is for partners and friends alike, secret Santa included.

In Floricienta, the 2004 Argentine series, the heroine dreams of someone giving her yellow flowers. In September 2021 TikTok revived the song to welcome spring in the southern hemisphere, and the trend hasn’t stopped since.