California Flower Mall blooms bright into the night with last minute flowers for the Virgin of Guadalupe holiday. CFM petalers extended hours help LA’s Mexican-American Catholic faithful honor their beloved Virgin with wholesale to the public fresh flowers.
California Flower Mall blooms bright this weekend and late night Monday with Virgin of Guadalupe flowers. CFM petalers serve flowers fresh from farms up to 70% off retail prices. In addition to wholesale fresh cut flowers, petalers sell Our Lady of Guadalupe flower bouquets, shrine flowers, church and altar flower arrangements for holiday masses and festivities. CFM is the only Downtown LA wholesale flower market open late evenings and all weekend through Dia de La Virgen de Guadalupe Tuesday, December 12. CFM’s expanded hours for the Virgin of Guadalupe holiday are:
- Sunday, December 10, 2017 – 4:30 am to 7 pm
- Monday, December 11, 2017 – 4:30 am to 9 pm
- Tuesday, December 12, 2017 – 4:30 am to 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. Francesca Sanchez, owner of Andrews Wholesale Flowers on the 825 San Pedro Street side of the city block wide California Flower Mall says, “This Catholic holiday is bigger than Christmas or Easter for flower sales because of the Mexican tradition of bringing flowers to mass to honor the Virgin. The flower gifts symbolize the Virgin’s love, peace and compassion. Gifts of flowers express devotion and faith on Dia de La Virgen de Guadalupe that words alone can’t begin to say.” While individual DIY bargain bud shoppers are a big part of high volume holiday sales, Virgin of Guadalupe events, pageants and church flower wholesale orders are equally strong. Production of church orders for arrangements, arches and other floral décor pieces is the highest of the year, according to Sanchez.
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 revere her with gifts of flowers, serenades, mariachi performers and Aztec dancers. Sanchez says Virgin of Guadalupe red roses are the most popular holiday flower, but any bright, colorful festive flower is appropriate to honor the Virgin, Based on 15 years of sales she says the top flower colors for the holiday are:
- Red
- Pink
- White
- Yellow
- Lavender
- Purple