Lilies are as ubiquitous at Eastertime as colorful eggs and baskets. I never appreciated Easter lilies as a child because I was too busy stressing out about having to bite the head off my chocolate bunny. Seriously, that thing has eyes.
Easter lilies are forced to bloom for Easter, completely out of their normal flowering time. What makes this flower so desirable that we need to prod it out of bed, as though it’s a groggy teenager needing to dress for an early Sunday morning church service? The Bible mentions lilies over 25 times, so let’s explore the significance of these stunning flowers and their Christian symbolism.
Wait, put the chocolate bunny down first. And turn him away; he sees everything.
Easter lilies have aromatic snow-white blooms that are shaped like a trumpet. The trumpet shape is said to symbolize…well, a trumpet, of course. Not just any trumpet, however, but one that is sounding the message that Christ has risen.
Even the way in which the lilies grow is symbolic of rebirth. The bulbs grow underground for three years before becoming beautiful flowers. This process mirrors the brutal death of Jesus, followed by his glorious resurrection. It is said that beautiful white lilies sprang up in the Garden of Gethsemane, where drops of Christ’s sweat fell to the ground in his final hours of sorrow.
The stunning white blossoms of the lily symbolize purity and innocence. They are often called “white-robed apostles of hope,” and they represent the purity of our sinless Lord and Savior. In many early paintings, the angel Gabriel is seen handing the Virgin Mary white lilies, symbolizing her purity as well.
Painting: Annunciation by Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1472
The Easter lily that we know today (Lilium longiflorum), is native to Japan and now cultivated by less than a dozen growers in a narrow coastal region in Oregon and California, which have ideal growing conditions. The lilies in Jesus’ time were wild lilies of the valleys and fields. Even so, we can still enjoy the modern lily as a reminder of the true meaning of Easter: our new life in Christ.
“Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, nor spin: and yet I say to you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” (Matthew 6:28b-29)
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