Flowers to Belarus - tips on sending flowers to someone in Belarus

The article is provided by Flowers-to-Russia.com, an online florist providing flower delivery service to Belarus and other countries. If you need to send flowers to Belarus use their services without any hesitation.

In Belarus, as well as in many other countries throughout the world, flowers are considered as one of the most popular gifts appropriate for both private and business occasions. However though the custom of giving flowers in Belarus looks very much like European and, to some extent, North American, there are many ways for an inexperienced customer to surprise a recipient unpleasantly with the choice of flowers or at least to provoke misunderstanding. The point is that there are some local traditions connected with giving and receiving flowers, which are specific to every occasion.

Birthday

On such a noticeable event every woman would love to have some flowers as a gift! And the women of Belarus are no exception. However flowers are not supposed to be given alone since they play a role of a perfect addition to a present itself. Your choice may vary from a single flower to a luxurious bouquet, which has no limits in size. The very important thing to remember is that the number of flowers must be EVEN for almost all the occasions including birthdays! Also going to a birthday party you can bring a vase arrangement or a basket. Thus the lady would not have to waste her time and efforts putting flowers into water. No doubt, she would appreciate it!

Men receive flowers today much more often than they used to in the past. However a bouquet for a man obviously should differ from the one for a woman, that’s why it’s better to consult a professional florist regarding its color, type of flowers and other details.

Sending flowers for corporate holidays and anniversaries is also welcomed. The best you can do is to pick a big centerpiece that will create a joyful atmosphere in the boss’s office. It’s better not to choose a wrapped bouquet because somebody would rather take it home than leave it in the office. You can also present a special bouquet for the boss or a manager added to the common one.

New Year and Christmas.

In many European countries and the USA Christmas has a status of the most important and celebrated holiday. It may surprise you but in Belarus, as well as in Russia, this role of the favorite national holiday plays the New Year. This fact finds its explanation in the past because after the October Revolution in the 1917 celebration of Christmas was forbidden, as it was a religious holiday. Today the Belorussians celebrate both holidays though New Year still holds the leading position. In a way local New Year celebration combines the meaning of Christmas and some customs traditionally associated with Christmas in Europe and Americas, such as, for instance, gifts from Santa Claus (here it is Ded Moroz).

If you are looking for a gift on any of these winter holidays you may chose the traditional Christmas garlands and table arrangements decorated with candles, balls, ribbons and another holiday decorations. Poinsettia, which is thought to be brought to Belarus from the West, becomes more and more popular as a piece of decorations. The tradition says that it’s better to keep the customary colors such as red- white-green for Christmas and white-and-gold for New Year; however our opinion is that all these colors are appropriate for a winter arrangement. And, of course, a New Year tree still continues to be the Queen of all the home decorations! Celebration will never be complete without it.

Saint Valentine’s Day

Till the recent times nobody has ever heard of Saint Valentine’s Day in Belarus. But in the course of time, especially in the last 2-3 years, it has become famous and gained a huge popularity among the young people. Saint Valentine’s Day’s floristic traditions along with the very holiday came to Belarus from the West. The holiday suggests quite a traditional choice of flowers. Red roses will be perfectly appropriate. Additional items in the shape of heart will give valentine’s look to any bouquet. And in order to totally capture the heart of someone very special you can send him/her a big heart made of fresh flowers!

March the 8th – International Women’s Day – Challenge for Belarus Florists

For every florist in Belarus this holiday is as important as St. Valentine’s Day for their European colleagues. It’s usual for a florist in Belarus to work 24 hours without sleep during this period. Prices on flowers grow twice and the amount of flowers sold in the days preceding the holiday approaches the amount which is sold yearly. Since EVERY woman should get flowers on March the 8th this day is one of the hardest for Belarusian men’s wallets. There is a huge choice of arrangements for this occasion from traditional red roses to inexpensive bouquets of spring flowers available during this period of time: tulips, hyacinths, and solidago traditional for the International Women’s Day. You can demonstrate your imagination and an original approach choosing flowers which will make Her happy!

Wedding

Soft cream colors became traditional for the bouquets designed to be given to a bride. A plain and contrast one is appropriate for a bridegroom. If you are invited to a wedding ceremony do not buy a big and heavy bouquet. Choose a small one so that the recipient could feel comfortable holding it. If you are going right to the wedding party don’t hesitate to choose a table arrangement.

Funeral and Sympathy flowers

In Belarus flowers often help people to support loved once in illness and to show one’s grief for those passed away. Traditionally funerals are associated with circular wreath, which are made of tightly compressed flowers and signify birth, life, death and rebirth. You can choose an easel of sprays presented in a broad range of sizes. Its shape also may vary from common ovals to more asymmetrical variants. If you look for a more personal sign of grief choose Casket Spray. It is an arrangement in a low profile shape designed for placement on top of the casket. Usually it is purchased be family members. The most traditional flowers for Funeral and Sympathy arrangements in Belarus are carnations, lilies and roses.

There is a wide range of occasions when people give flowers: name-days, professional holidays (for instance, teachers’ day), addition to one’s family. It’s more than appropriate to give flowers in order to wish someone to get better when he/she is ill. However in the majority of cases people give flowers without any occasion just because it is one of the best ways to express one’s warm feelings and thankfulness invented by the mankind.

Floral industry in Belarus

Usually in Belarusian market you can find both the imported cut flowers and those grown in Belarus, which always cost less but, unfortunately, in the majority of cases their quality leaves much to be desired. The major part of florists prefers to deal with the import from Holland and South America – Ecuador and Columbia – has also developed. Large wholesale companies usually offer all kinds of cut flowers, which the florists in Europe and North America deal with. Unfortunately small regional companies have to limit their stock of cut flowers to what is always in great demand and do not take a risk importing exotic and rare flowers.

Retail

Retail floristic market on the most part of Belarus greatly differs from the European. First, because the market has been existing for a short period of time and the majority of Belarusian florists have been running this business only 10-15 years. We would theoretically divide this market into two major parts: full-service flower shops with professional designers and a numerous number of people who sells flowers in the street, underground, open-air markets, and in small booths. Unfortunately, specialized high-level stores, especially in small towns, often fail to compete with street sellers who, having neither special knowledge of how to take care of flowers nor any designer skills, offer usually a low quality flowers for a low price as well. This fact has a negative impact on the condition of the market in general. Nevertheless the professional floristic service market has been developing slowly but steadily. The situation in big regional cities today has developed either and most of them have at least 1-2 high- level floristic stores. You will be able to find highly professional florist in Minsk, Gomel, Mogilev, Vitebsk and Grodno and in some other Belorussian towns. And we look very optimistically at the perspectives of the floristic market development in Belarus.

Some basic rules

1. Never give an EVEN number of flowers unless for Funeral. And visa verse a Funeral arrangement must always contain an even number of flowers. However this rule does not include various kinds of mixed arrangements because in such bouquets it’s hard to count the number of stems

2. Be careful sending yellow flowers! There is a superstition in Belarus which says that yellow flowers are a sign of a coming loss of a loved one.

The article is provided by Flowers-to-Russia.com, an online Belarus florist providing flowers delivery to Belarus and other countries of the former Soviet Union. If you need to send flowers to Belarus use their services and the recipient will surely be happy with highly professional service of the local florist and with high quality of flowers. Customer service speaks Russian, English and French. All major credit cards are welcome.