The Delicate Lily

Easter Morn

Louise Lewin Matthews Easter morn with lilies fair

Fills the church with perfumes rare,

As their clouds of incense rise,

Sweetest offerings to the skies.

Stately lilies pure and white

Flooding darkness with their light,

Bloom and sorrow drifts away,

On this holy hallow'd day.

Easter Lilies bending low

in the golden afterglow,

Bear a message from the sod

To the heavenly towers of our God

In early Christian art, the lily is a symbol of purity because of its delicacy of form and its snow white color. The White Trumpet or Easter Lily has come to symbolize the resurrection of Jesus. The lily has often been considered to be temperamental in cultivation; however, being one of the best garden plants, the lily can be brought down to the earth. Biblical legend tells us that the lily flower came from Eve's tears when she and Adam were banished from the Garden of Eden. No matter whether you come from the East or the West, the lily is usually a symbol of purity, grace and beauty. Christians treat the lily as the Virgin Mary's flower, so the Lily becomes the accepted floral decoration on Easter Sunday and for wedding ceremonies in the Western world.