California Flower Mall blooms bright into the night with last minute flowers for the Virgin of Guadalupe holiday December 12th. CFM petalers extended evening hours help meet demand by LA’s Catholic faithful for fresh flower gifts, rose designs and floral installations to revere their beloved Virgin.
Business is blooming this week as California Flower Mall petalers fill fresh flower orders to honor La Virgencita – Our Lady of Guadalupe – the Patroness of Mexico. The December 12 Catholic holy day celebrates the rose filled miracles performed by the Virgin of Guadalupe for Aztec peasant Juan Diego and a Mexican Catholic Bishop. Mexican-American Catholics show adoration for the Virgin by bringing fresh flower gifts to feast day mass and creating flower decorated shrines at home. Catholic parishes and schools create elaborate flower filled Virgin of Guadalupe shrines, altar displays, rose installations and pageant flowers.
CFM is the only major Downtown LA wholesale flower market open late evenings through Dia De Las Virgen De Guadalupe Wednesday, December 12. CFM’s extended holiday hours are:
- Mon. Dec. 10, 2018 – 4:30 am – 7 pm
- Tue. Dec. 11, 2018 – 4:30 am – 9 pm
- Wed. Dec. 12, 2018 – 4:30 am – 6 pm
The Virgin of Guadalupe is the Patron Saint of Mexico. The day of “La Virgen” is an important affirmation of cultural and religious identity for many Mexican-Americans. Mark Chatoff owner and president of the city block wide California Flower Mall wholesale flower market says The Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe is the first of several major profitable winter flower holidays for CFM’s 30 family owned and operated wholesale flower showrooms. “DIY shoppers bringing fresh flowers to holiday mass are part of the high volume flower sales. Production of big ticket custom design work like rose installations; flower arches and other floral adornment pieces for churches is the strongest of the year for the religious sector,” he says.
Red roses are central to the story of the Virgin of Guadalupe’s appearance and the many miracles she performed for a Mexican peasant and Catholic Bishop in 1531. Millions of Mexican-American Southern California worshipers attend theatrical, flower filled masses for the brown skinned Virgen de Guadalupe. Hispanic based Catholic parishes adorn her with gifts of flowers, serenades, candle light processions, mariachi performers and Aztec dancers.