Wordful Wednesday: Floral Symbolics

For several weeks of participating in Wordless Wednesday, I couldn't be sure whether putting a title for each entry was or wasn't somewhat or exactly right. I always had a title. I couldn't be totally wordless about them. Although I enjoyed Wordless in its style, I found it increasingly difficult to shut up. So glad I found Angie of 7 Clown Circus hosting Wordful Wednesday - a solution to the feeling of inadequateness in being rendered wordless. If you feel the same way, head over to the Wordful Wednesday home where you can yak about your photo like it's your adorable grandkid.

During Wai Khru or Teacher Appreciation Day in Thailand, teachers are presented with flowers. This one on the photo is somewhat improvised, i.e. eggplant flowers are nowhere in this arragement, but the meaning is intact. Supposedly, the eggplant flower, represented by the white, tiny flowers forming lines on the body of this arrangement, stands for respect because when the tree is blooming its branches bend down in the same way a student pays respect to their teacher. Bermuda grass, replaced in this arrangement with the purplish pink flowers, stands for patience or perseverance because it looks very much alive for a long time. The popped rice, represented as the white tips on the pointed banana leaves, stands for discipline because the rice is placed in a pan together and heated up to become popped rice. The needle-like leaves mean the student will be sharp-witted and brainy.

Description revised from http://www.thailandqa.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1618

There! It felt good to let that out. Happy now :-)