Mother's Day Flowers in Thailand: What Jasmine Means and What Else You Can Give
Why jasmine is the flower of Thai Mother's Day
Thai Mother's Day falls on 12 August, the birthday of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit The Queen Mother.
The date and the flower were fixed together in 1976, when the National Council on Social Welfare of Thailand set 12 August as National Mother's Day and named jasmine its symbol.
The choice was not decorative. Every part of the flower means something:
- Its white colour stands for pure love, love with nothing asked in return.
- Its scent, strong and lasting, and the fact that double jasmine flowers all year round, stands for love that endures and never fades.
- Its petals, layered tightly with the tips curling inward, are read as a mother's arms folded around her child.
That is why a Thai child gives jasmine, and why the gesture needs no words to explain it.
The other flowers of Mother's Day, and what they mean
Jasmine is the Thai symbol, but it is not the only flower given on 12 August, and different countries choose differently.
- Carnation. The Mother's Day flower in much of the world. Pink for a mother's living love, white to remember a mother who has passed.
- Rose. Gratitude and admiration. Pink is the usual choice for a mother.
- Chrysanthemum. Long life and a wish for good health.
- Orchid. Refinement and strength, and the flower most associated with Thailand itself.
- Marigold. Prosperity, and the reason it appears in so many Thai offerings.
- Lotus. Purity of heart and spiritual awakening, the flower of merit-making.
- Dok rak. Its name literally means the flower of love, which is why it is threaded into garlands.
If jasmine is expensive in a bad year, market vendors thread garlands from roses, chrysanthemums, bay leaves and bougainvillea instead. The meaning is carried by the gesture, not only by the species.
Why the flowers are given as a garland
In Thailand the flowers rarely arrive as a bouquet. They arrive as a phuang malai, threaded into a ring, and the child kneels and offers it in both hands.
The garland is what turns flowers into a gesture of respect. It is the same form used to honour a teacher, to make an offering at a temple, and to welcome a guest of honour. Given to a mother, it says thank you, and it says it in the oldest language Thailand has.
If you want the full background, see what a phuang malai is.
Why light blue is the colour of Mother's Day
Jasmine is the flower of Mother's Day. Light blue is its colour, and the two come from the same place.
Her Majesty Queen Sirikit The Queen Mother was born on Friday 12 August 1932. In Thai tradition every day of the week has its own colour, and Friday's colour is light blue.
Because Mother's Day is her birthday, light blue became the colour of the day itself. You see it on her personal flag, and the S of her royal monogram is rendered in blue for the same reason.
So on 12 August Thailand dresses in light blue, and a light blue garland is the choice that reads as correct to any Thai eye.
Or choose your own mother's colour
There is a second, more personal option. The same tradition that gives Mother's Day its blue gives every person the colour of the day they were born, and it is theirs for life.
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🔴 Sunday, red. Power and life force.
🟡 Monday, yellow. Purity and honour.
🩷 Tuesday, pink. Gentleness and charm.
🟢 Wednesday, green. Growth and renewal.
🟠 Thursday, orange. Wisdom and learning.
🔵 Friday, light blue. Grace and harmony, and the colour of Mother’s Day itself.
🟣 Saturday, purple. Calm strength and dignity.
Light blue honours the day. Your mother's own birth colour honours her. Both are right, and white is always safe because it is jasmine's own colour.
Keep black away from the occasion entirely; it belongs to mourning.
See our Phuang Malai in the seven day-of-birth colours
Fresh jasmine, or flowers that last
A fresh jasmine garland is the tradition, and its scent is the whole point of it. It costs between 35 and 100 baht for the sizes most people buy, and it is finished within a day. That is what it was made for.
A garland threaded in cotton and dried flowers gives up the scent and keeps the rest, for years. It is the one to choose when your mother keeps what you give her, when you cannot be there on the day, or when the gift has to travel.
Most families do not choose. They give fresh flowers in the morning and something she can keep afterwards.
See Malai Cuty, our Mother's Day garland
Questions people ask
Why is jasmine the Mother's Day flower in Thailand?
It was named the symbol of National Mother's Day in 1976, alongside the date of 12 August. Its white colour stands for pure love, its lasting scent for love that does not fade, and its inward-curling petals for a mother's arms around her child.
When is Mother's Day in Thailand?
12 August every year, the birthday of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit The Queen Mother.
What flowers can I give instead of jasmine?
Roses, chrysanthemums, orchids and marigolds are all given. In years when jasmine is scarce, market vendors thread garlands from roses, chrysanthemums, bay leaves and bougainvillea.
What colour should a Mother's Day garland be?
Light blue is the colour of Mother's Day, because Queen Sirikit The Queen Mother was born on a Friday and Friday's colour is light blue. White is always safe, being jasmine's own colour. A garland in your own mother's day-of-birth colour is the more personal choice. Avoid black, which belongs to mourning.
Why is light blue the Mother's Day colour in Thailand?
Mother's Day is the birthday of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit The Queen Mother, born on Friday 12 August 1932. In Thai tradition Friday's colour is light blue, so it became the colour of the day.
Why a garland rather than a bouquet?
The garland is a gesture of respect, offered in both hands. It is the same form used for teachers, temples and honoured guests, which is what gives it its weight.
How long does a jasmine garland last?
About a day in Thai heat. A garland in cotton and dried flowers keeps its shape and colour for years.