Floral Superstitions
“April showers bring May flowers”— right, and taking an uptown 1 beyond 125th Street at two in the morning will almost certainly guarantee a few odd subway creatures along the way.
There are some progressions in nature, in our professional lives, or in our interpersonal relationships that follow an obvious trajectory, but there are others that are, on some occasions, left up to the possibility of chance. The best way to describe the rationale or cultural belief system many post-Soviets tend to hold is as follows: the first is that the outcome of our decisions is produced and guided by spiritual or religious force(s); the next is that the outcome of our decisions is shaped by political, social, scientific, or economic factors; and the third (perhaps the most irrational and baseless of the three) is illustrated through the arena of superstitions.
The most harmless superstition that comes to mind is to “sit before the journey” (посидеть на дорожку), which implores someone, or a group of people, to sit for a few minutes before departing—so as to avert any evils or dangers that might emerge along the way.
Superstitions are quite popular amongst many Russian-speaking people, despite the fact that they have little to no spiritual or religious origins. I’ve noticed myself taking comfort in some of these superstitions, especially given how silly they appear when scaled to the ever-changing circumstances of my early adult life.
Like seriously, who decided that “whistling in the house will make you poor”?
Nevertheless, there is a brief moment of relief when deciding to abide by or acknowledge a relevant superstition. One that I have seen materialize most notably in my life is related to the giving and receiving of flowers. Some many years ago, I learned of it through my mother. The belief is that if a received bouquet of flowers dies within the first few days, the gifter of the bouquet (often being a partner or romantic interest in this instance) has unspoken reservations about their feelings towards you… or worse, is being mistruthful in their romantic devotion to you. Yikes.
Perhaps it was by pure coincidence or because of the naturally occurring life cycle of bodega-plucked flowers, but I distinctly recalled this superstition when receiving a bouquet from a former boyfriend. Needless to say, we broke up about a week or so after his gifting of the flowers.
Curious to trace out the microbial sciences that potentially hid behind this superstition, I decided to take a chance on a ludicrous investigation into how such a connection could be drawn.
Stress can be triggered in plants based on their environmental exposures.
Studies suggest “that enteric pathogens can invade and be internalized into plants, although they are not plant pathogens. For successful colonization, enteric pathogens must overcome the plant basal defense system and innate immune system.” (Read more here.)
Internalized human pathogens can trigger or escape plant defenses induced by phytopathogens, as “human pathogens have adapted to the plant environment as part of their natural lifecycle.” (Read more here.)
Before the “woo woo Ester” comments roll in, I must reiterate that there are, of course, very few, if any, studies that have been conducted to observe the impact of human hormonal or microbial distributions in cut flowers. It is perhaps doubly unlikely that the measured lifeline of a given bouquet could then be correlated to the microbial contaminants of its giver (i.e., whether they are producing enough oxytocin or hormone to meaningfully “prolong” the life cycle of the flowers).
Point being, the gifting of flowers will always observe some cultural value or tradition. Whether this value is ultimately reinforced by love, comfort, or superstition, our short-lived, lushly petaled bundles serve as a testament to how fragile our lives (and surrounding life) are. Although change can be prolonged on some occasions, it is more often immediate and un-factorable. In the kindest of cases, my hope is that whatever changes are felt are somewhere in between, giving you just enough time to trim the ends of each stem, to replenish the drained vessel, and to take on the chance of another day (and hopefully a little love).