What Flowers Should You Use For Hanukkah?Yvette

While many of us are decorating our homes with beautiful Christmas arrangements of red and white, the Jewish community is preparing to celebrate their traditional winter-time holiday too (although it’ll be mid-summer for those down here in Australia!)

In this blog, we’ll take a look at the significance of flowers for Hanukkah and whether it’s appropriate to send flowers to friends who may be celebrating.

What is Hanukkah?

Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday that celebrates the rededication of the holy temple in Jerusalem. The Festival of Lights is also known as the “Festival of Dedication” and it takes place from the 25th day of Kislev through the second day of Tevet, which usually falls in December. It is celebrated by Jewish people with a nightly menorah lighting, special prayers and traditional foods. 

Are flowers a traditional part of Hanukkah?

While white lilies will very often appear in table centrepieces for Hanukkah, there are no specific flowers considered to be traditional for the holiday. Rather, Hanukkah has specific colours that most arrangements will adhere to, much like Christmas’ red and green. Blue and white are Hanukkah’s key colours, so you can expect most Hanukkah arrangements to be full of flowers in these colours, sometimes with green foliage interspersed throughout.

Why blue and white for Hanukkah?

Blue and white are found together throughout Jewish traditions, including on the Israeli flag, the traditional prayer shawl (tallit) and on the blue tassels worn on men’s clothing (tzitzit).

Within Jewish culture, the colour blue is often associated with peace, tranquillity and divinity, whereas white is associated with light, purity and cleanliness.

You may also find accents of silver throughout Hanukkah decorations and floral arrangements, which is another colour associated with Hanukkah, just not as much as blue or white.

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What flowers should be used for Hanukkah?

As we mentioned before, the colours of the flowers are more important than the type, however, there are some flowers that are more commonly used than others.

White Flowers

• Lilies
• Carnations
• Alstroemeria
• Roses

Blue Flowers

• Delphinium
• Hydrangeas

Hanukkah arrangements will usually contain a combination of the two colours, with the option to include green foliage or accents of silver.

Is it appropriate to send flowers for Hanukkah?

Yes – it is! While Hanukkah isn’t known for gift-giving (unlike Christmas) flower arrangements are often given during this time as a way to celebrate the holiday. 

You may consider giving a flower arrangement:

• To family you can’t spend the holiday with
• To a friend as a way of recognising their faith/traditions
• To yourself, to be a centrepiece for your own Hanukkah meal or just for decorating your home