As we have travelled through the dull grey days of Winter, the bright jewels of the Spring flowers really impress us. Every little specimen has its own charm. The modest, white snowdrop with it’s lowered head, the smiling pansies, golden daffodils and the little upright mauve grape hyacinth, standing like miniature soldiers. But take a good look at the beautiful anemone. The purple, pink and white are the liturgical colours of Lent through to Easter. When the anemone blooms red, Christians say it’s a symbol of the blood that Jesus Christ shed on the cross. That’s the reason why you’ll see a bunch of anemones on several paintings of the crucifixion.
With this in mind dig a little deeper and you will find that the anemone is from the genus ‘pasque flower’, which blooms around Easter: hence the name “Pasque” (meaning “like Paschal”, of Easter).
The anemone grows wild in many countries of the Middle East and particularly in the Holy Land. It is a possibility that when Our Lord spoke of the lilies or flowers of the field, He could well have been referring to the sea of anemones just where he was standing.
This Spring these flowers are blooming so proudly and stand-out joyfully, amidst all the other little beauties of God’s creation, to bring a special happiness to our hearts.
