Everyone Love A Nice Lei ;)

Orchid lei have a lot of history, and since summer is coming and graduations are near, I thought it would be a splendid idea to share some fun facts with y'all. [ie. "lei" is used for both the plural and singular form of the noun :)]

During the "Boat Days" of the early 1900s, lei vendors lined the pier at Aloha Tower to welcome malihini (visitors) to the islands and kama'aina (locals) back home. It is said that departing visitors would throw their lei into the sea as the ship passed Diamond Head, in the hopes that, like the lei, they too would return to the islands again someday.

Today, visitors can easily bring back the nostalgia of old Hawaii by ordering a traditional flower lei greeting for their arrival at the airport. Greeters welcome visitors with a warm “aloha” and adorn them with beautiful fresh leis. It's a wonderful way to begin a Hawaiian vacation.

You can wear a lei at anytime. Heck, you can even buy one for yourself, but it's good to know that there are a few rules when it comes to lei etiquette. The proper way to wear it is gently on the shoulders so it hangs down both the front and back. Also, it is a sign of affection if someone gives you a lei. Therefore, it is pretty rude to refuse it [I recommend you never do]. Once you do have your lei on, it is rude to remove it in front of the person that gave it to you; so if you need to take it off, make sure they don't see!

Graduations are a very popular time to adorn someone with a lei. In Hawaiian tradition, graduates are likely to be given so many lei that they can sometimes come up to the persons eyes!

There are lots of types of leis, but orchid leis tend to be the most popular here in the Continental United States. In case you do want a lei, but you aren't sure where to get one in Colorado, I have good news for you! I, yes your trusty blogger, am actually pretty darned good at making a lei :) So if you know someone who is graduating but don't want to bog them down with a loose bouquet of flowers or if you want to show your affection in a creative manner, give Arapahoe Floral a call and order your lei. The sooner, the better. These suckers can take sometime :)

Aloha!