Flower etiquette

If you’re thinking of giving flowers to somebody in Lithuania, remember that superstition remains rife here and it’s easy to make a mistake. There are certain rules that should be adhered to if you wish to keep on the right side of your sweetheart and/or future parents-in-law. Firstly, unless somebody just died, make sure you only give an odd number of flowers or stems. One will do, but isn’t particularly welcomed unless it’s a single red rose for the one you love. Lilies and chrysanthemums are potent symbols of death and should be left well alone unless heading to the cemetery. If giving flowers to members of the older generations avoid yellow ones. Yellow is the colour of jealousy, and can be traced back to the Middle Ages when yellow was the traditional colour of the dresses worn by ladies of a questionable profession. Carnations, especially red ones, are symbols of the communists. Again, avoid. And if you just so happen to be in Lithuania on International Women’s Day (March 8), it’s appropriate to give red tulips. The tradition among men is to buy a bunch in the morning, dish them out willy-nilly to female colleagues at work, then turn up at home late at night rather tipsy, clutching the last droopy specimen. It’s then traditional for the wife to set about the man with a large heavy object.