rity, a wreath of its
leaves having been worn by magistrates. On certain occasions the mitre
of the Jewish high priest was adorned with a chaplet of the blossoms of
the henbane. Of the further use of garlands, we are told that the
Japanese employ them very freely;[4] both men and women wearing chaplets
of fragrant blossoms. A wreath of a fragrant kind of olive is the reward
of literary merit in China. In Northern India the African marigold is
held as a sacred flower; they adorn the trident emblem of Mahadiva with
garlands of it, and both men and women wear chaplets made of its flowers
on his festivals. Throughout Polynesia garlands have been habitually
worn on seasons of "religious solemnity or social rejoicing," and in
Tonga they were employed as a token of respect. In short, wreaths seem
to have been from a primitive period adopted almost universally in
ceremonial rites, having found equal favour both with civilised as well
as uncivilised communities. It will probably, too, always be so.

Flowers have always held a prominent place in wedding ceremonies, and at
the present day are everywhere extensively used. Indeed, it would be no
easy task to exhaust the list of flowers which have entered into the
marriage customs of different countries, not to mention the many bridal
emblems of which they have been made symbolical. As far back as the time
of Juno, we read, according to Homer's graphic account, how:--

"Glad earth perceives, and from her bosom pours
Unbidden herbs and voluntary flowers:
Thick, new-born violets a soft carpet spread,
And clust'ring lotos swelled the rising bed;
And sudden hyacinths the earth bestrow,
And flamy crocus made the mountain glow."

According to a very early custom the Grecian bride was required to eat a
quince, and the hawthorn was the flower which formed her wreath, which
at the present day is still worn at Greek nuptials, the altar being
decked with its blossoms. Among the Romans the hazel held a significant
position, torches having been burnt on the wedding evening to insure
prosperity to the newly-married couple, and both in Greece and Rome
young married couples were crowned with marjoram. At Roman weddings,
too, oaken boughs were carried during the ceremony as symbols of
fecundity; and the bridal wreath was of verbena, plucked by the bride
herself. Holly wreaths were sent as tokens of congratulation, and
wreaths of parsley and rue were given under a belief that they were