Actress Jessica Alba was born April 28, 1981, during the month of the daisy-a flower with considerable meaning and history that is steeped in legend. It is traditionally a symbol of childhood innocence, purity, and gentleness.
The term daisy has an Anglo-Saxon origin. It comes from the word "daes eage," which means "day's eye." This name was probably chosen because the daisy opens at sunrise and closes at sunset. The flower is at least 4,000 years old. Replications of the flower adorned golden hairpins found in the ruins of a Minoan palace located on the Island of Crete. The flower also appeared as decorations on Egyptian ceramics. Over the years, many legends and beliefs have formed around this beautiful, yet simple, flower.
One Roman legend holds that the flower came into existence when the nymph Belides drew the unwanted attention of Vertumnus, the god of orchards, while cavorting with other nymphs. To get away from the smitten god, Belides changed herself into a daisy.
In Victorian times, the daisy was a symbol of love and was used in traditions performed by young maidens. When a maid was turned away by her love, she would pick a daisy and pull the petals from it one at a time while saying, "He loves me, he loves me not." When she pulled the last petal, the phrase she was on would determine if the young man really still loved her. Another tradition had Victorian maids closing their eyes while plucking a handful of daisies from a field. The number of blossoms she pulled determined how many years she'd have to wait until she married.
Daisies were thought to have other predictive abilities as well. Farmers believed that spring hadn't truly arrived until they could set one foot upon twelve daisies. It was also thought that if one dreamed of daisies during the spring or summer, good fortune was sure to come. However, if daisies were dreamed of in the winter or fall, the dreamer would experience bad luck.
Many people also believed the daisy had medical properties King Henry the VIII ate them to cure ulcers. Some people drank crushed daisies soaked in wine to cure insanity. Others used them to cure eye ailments. Still others used crushed daisies mixed with oil to banish gray hairs.
Purity, love, predictions, and a cure-daisies have done it all. They've enjoyed a long history and remain popular today. They're a versatile flower that is often used in floral arrangements and as a landscaping element. Jessica Alba can only hope her popularity remains for as long as her birth flower and that she shows herself to be as versatile as well.
