You’ve probably played Charades or Twenty Questions but what about Wink Murder, The Minister’s Cat or Are You There Moriarty?
Theses are all Victorian parlor games. And given that Victorians were huge fans both of flowers and flower symbolism, it’s not surprising that some games had references to flowers. Snapdragon, popular on Christmas Eve, required players to pluck raisins out of brandy that had been set alight.
In The Flower Game, drawing a daisy from a mixed bouquet meant your future sweetheart would be an early riser.
Other games were both figurative and literal. In his book, Women of Flowers: A Tribute to Victorian Women Illustrators, author Jack Kramer shares the rules of The Flower Game.
Have a large bouquet ready; let each person draw from it a flower, and the meaning attached to it will typify the future consort’s character. For example, say your bouquet for spring consists of violets, hyacinths, primroses, daisies, hawthorn, daffodils, then the characters would be:
Violet: Modest
Hyacinth: Playful
Primrose: Simple
Daisy: An Early Riser
Hawthorn: Hopeful
Daffodil: Daring
Of course, the persons who draw the flowers are supposed to be ignorant of their meaning; or they may draw blindfolded.
In winter, this game may be played with painted flower cards; painting a pack would be a pleasant home amusement; or dried flowers gummed on cards would answer perfectly well. The players then draw a card instead of a flower.
From The Language of Flowers, Anonymous, Published by Frederick Warne & Co., Undated
