Traditionally flower garlands were part of offerings and prayers. Along Serangoon Road, there are several Hindu Temples. Many devotees purchase fresh flower garlands made at these street side stalls before proceeding to the temple for prayers.
In the last 20-30 years, garlands have also been used for festive occasions such as weddings and other important events such as Deepavali (the Hindu festival of lights). During these occasions, the home would be decorated with many loose flowers or garlands. Ladies would also wear these garlands in their hair.
While there are many types of garlands, the three most common flowers used to make them are the marigold, rose and jasmine. In Singapore our national flower is the orchid and this has become a common feature in flower garlands made here.
Photo Source - Personal Photo
While many things have remained the same in terms of the art of flower garland weaving, we now see many non Indian flower garland makers! This is really very amazing as it takes years to learn how to skillfully weave loose flowers together into a garland. This is an activity that an expert can do in minutes but will take any one of us hours!!
Take a look at the photo above. Who is the expert and whom is he training?