How did lilies come to be Easter lilies?

[dropshadowbox align=”none” effect=”lifted-both” width=”auto” height=”” background_color=”#ffffff” border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” ]The Easter lily is a relatively new tradition – first brought to the United States in 1882 from Bermuda. The large, pure-white blossoms remind Christians of the pure, new life that comes through the Resurrection of Jesus.[/dropshadowbox]

According to legend, Kennedy writes, when Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, the flowers bowed their heads in grief and pity. “But the proud lily would not bow its lovely white head.

“The next day, the lily discovered that Jesus was going to be crucified. The flower felt so miserable about how it had acted … that it bowed its head in shame. To honor the Lord Jesus and to show its sorrow, the lily has grown with a down-turned blossom ever since that first Good Friday.”

*This story is adapted from a piece written by Barbara Dunlap-Berg, former internal content editor for United Methodist Communications.