A flower and a gemstone

There is a flower and a gemstone for each month of the year.

What's in a birth date ?

When you consider that there are over 6 billion people on this planet it would seem silly to think that one day in the year can make any one of those 6000 million special. But everyone is special to someone and a birthday is always a special day.

It has been that way forever most likely. Or at least since the days when someone decided to keep time through the use of calendars.


The calendar that is most commonly used today is called the Gregorian calendar and it is a solar calendar which means that it moves forward along with the cycles of the earth in relation to the sun. One spin of the earth is equal to one day.

This type of solar calendar is also called a civil calendar since it is a good method to tell you when Monday comes around and when it is time to wake up and go to work.

It differs from lunar calendars that work with seasons and which are more likely to be used in almanacs and in planting and sowing cycles.

But the modern day Gregorian calendar is best for telling us or reminding us of coming special dates such as birthdays.

Over time, since the earliest ages in Egypt, Greece, Rome and elsewhere people have used a flower and a gemstone to show appreciation and respect for those they care for.

Many systems have evolved around the theme of a flower and a gemstone but in 1912 a group of people got together and decided which stone best represented each month of the year.

The list that they came up with was as follows:

• January is to a White Carnation and Garnet
• February is to a Violet and an Amethyst
• March is to a Daffodil and an Aquamarine stone
  
• April is to Daisy or Tulip and a Diamond
  
• May is to a Sunflower or Lilly of the Valley and an Emerald gem
  
• June is to a Rose or an Honeysuckle and a Pearl or a Moonstone
  
• July is to a Larkspur and a Ruby
  
• August is to a Lily or a Gladiolus and a Peridot gemstone
  
• September is to a Forget Me Not or a Morning Glory and a Sapphire
  
• October is to a Marigold or Camellia and an Opal or Tourmaline gemstone
  
• November is to a Chrysanthemum and a Yellow Topaz or Citrine
  
• December is to the Holly or the Narcissus flower and a Turquoise gemstone or Blue Topaz
  

Just recently a new gemstone was added to the list for December and that rock is the Tanzanite.

Click on the links for more details on the flower and the gemstone.



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