The Powerful Act of Giving
Why do we give? Most of the time, when customers visit Camberwell Florist, they want a bouquet of flowers as a gift or to mark an occasion.
The occasion may be a birthday, an anniversary, or a new baby’s birth. Flowers are given to join in the celebration of these events, or to show you care.
We often have customers tell us they want to give flowers to someone whose child has passed away, to someone recovering from surgery, and sometimes even to someone who is simply feeling down. The flowers show empathy and compassion, helping people going through hard times feel less alone.
Other times, we are asked to make a bouquet of flowers to say thank you. The flowers show gratitude, allowing the giver to gift a beautiful physical reminder of thanks to the person who did something for them.
With over 30 years in the flower retail business, I wanted to explore why giving flowers remains so popular in our society today.
Gifting is a Big Business
Statistics show that giving is a major sector of the retail market, and forecasts indicate it’s on the rise. The global personalised gifts market is expected to grow, rising from $23.5 billion in 2019 to an estimated $34.3 billion by 2026.
According to Research and Markets, the gift card market in Australia has also experienced rapid growth. With a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 10% during the 2020-2024 period, the market size reached USD 7.42 million.
They predict growth will continue, with a 9.6% CAGR over 2025-2029. At the start of 2030, they expect the gift card market to reach approximately USD 11.85 million.
Part of this is because digital card gifting has become an easy, flexible, and convenient way to give in both personal and corporate sectors.
What Does Giving Mean?
The Oxford Dictionary defines the word give as the act of freely transferring something to someone. The word’s origin dates to the Old English (West Saxon) language. It was known as giefan and defined as ‘to give, bestow to another’.
The concept of giving is also mentioned throughout the Bible, as it talks about generosity, compassion, and spiritual growth. It talks about how we should share resources and help others in need to live a life that reflects God’s love and generosity.
In a world often driven by personal gain and material success, the act of giving stands out as a profound force. Giving is not merely a charitable deed; it is an expression of our shared humanity.
Whether it’s a small gesture of kindness, a donation to a cause, or the gift of time and empathy, giving carries the power to transform lives and foster connections.
Happiness When Receiving Gifts
An act of generosity can lift someone from despair, offer crucial support in times of need, or simply bring a moment of joy and dignity to a difficult moment in one’s life.
Generosity can lift people’s spirits and inspire resilience. These acts may seem small in isolation, but their ripple effects can extend far beyond the moment.
Support received can plant seeds of confidence, resilience, and even a desire to one day give back in kind. Leading by example shines a light to help pay it forward.
Joy When Giving
The power of giving also impacts the giver. Engaging in acts of generosity activates areas of the brain associated with pleasure and reward.
This phenomenon, sometimes called the ‘helpers high’, is based on the theory that giving produces endorphins in the brain that provide a mild version of a morphine high.
Research at the National Institute of Health showed that the same area of the brain that activates in response to food or pleasure also lit up when participants in the study thought about giving. At Emory University, another study revealed that helping others lit up the same part of the brain as receiving rewards or experiencing pleasure.
Ultimately, to help others is to help ourselves. It allows us to make a positive connection and gives us a sense of purpose and satisfaction, all of which can only be good for our mental health.
Furthermore, giving is not limited to those with wealth and abundance. The power of giving is not measured in monetary value, but in sincere and genuine intention. Some of the most meaningful acts come from those with very little to offer.
A smile or a listening ear are gifts that cost nothing but can mean a great deal. They carry with them compassion and empathy, which may have a huge impact on people’s lives and be remembered for years to come.
Gifting is Contagious
When one person gives, it often sparks a chain reaction. An act of kindness can inspire others to do the same, creating a ripple that extends far beyond the original gesture.
This concept was the central theme in the movie Pay It Forward. Practising kindness and compassion that spreads to others with the goal of making the world a better place to live.
This goal is also the purpose of movements, charities, and entire organisations. These groups have a purpose, and that is to provide help and support to those going through a difficult time.
For example, Do It For Dolly is an organisation dedicated to raising awareness and funds for anti-bullying initiatives. Their name is a call to action to spread kindness. These collective efforts have changed laws and rebuilt communities, and it all begins with someone choosing to give.
Giving in Action With Team Summer
Team Summer is an organisation that asks children to help other kids living with cancer. It all started with Summer Dale. She discovered she had stage 4 cancer when she was just 15 years old.
Her family and friends started to raise money to help pay for Summer’s cancer treatment. Half of the money went to the treatment, and the other half was for Summer to donate to a charity of her own choosing. She decided to help other kids with cancer.
The idea was to take her mind off her own misery by helping someone else. It helped Summer cope with her own dire situation and made a connection between the kids who were experiencing the same situation.
They replaced the feeling of loneliness with compassion, satisfaction, and happiness. Summer’s mother could see that the children were lit up from the inside by the act of giving.
Finding the Light
In Leonard Cohen’s song Anthem, the powerful lyrics, ‘There’s a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in, show us that when something breaks, it’s an opportunity for the light to come through the crack.
That light gives us what we need to move forward with wisdom, empathy, and compassion. We need a crack to embrace love and humanity in our lives.
This is what allows us to reach out and help our fellow human beings. Giving ultimately creates a happier life for everyone, which is why it’s so powerful.
Giving for the Future
Teaching the value of giving to younger generations is also crucial for the future of humanity and the world. Children who learn the importance of generosity grow into adults with strong values, empathy, and a sense of civic responsibility.
These people are more likely to contribute positively to society, not just through charity but through their professional, personal, and civic lives. Giving becomes not just something they do, but a part of who they are.
Inspiration and Legacy
The act of giving demonstrates the kind of world we want to live in. When we give, we don’t just change others’ lives, we change our own. Even one act of kindness can inspire others, leading to larger movements and societal changes.
Giving teaches younger generations the value of generosity and fosters a culture of empathy. Many Camberwell Florist customers come in with their children, and as the years pass, those children come back to order flowers of their own.
Floriography: The Language of Giving Flowers
Giving flowers in the Victorian era (1800s) was a coded language to express emotions. This era was known for its strict code of etiquette, so flowers were used to secretly convey emotions.
The key aspects of giving flowers were colour, number, and arrangement of flowers. For example, a single red rose would express love, while a collection of pink roses and hydrangeas would express love and gratitude.
Floriography was a popular hobby where people learned the meaning of flowers and created bouquets to reflect their emotions.
Flower meanings were taken from literature, religion, mythology, medieval legend, and even the shape of the blooms themselves. The popularity of floriography waned with the onset of World War I, but some aspects of the tradition remain to this day.
We still give roses to express love on Valentine’s Day, and chrysanthemums to show our affection and gratitude on Mother’s Day. Rosemary symbolises remembrance on Anzac Day, as rosemary still grows wild on the Gallipoli Peninsula.
Animal Affections
Animals are just as familiar with giving as we are. Have you ever seen a young chimpanzee give a banana to an elder? It’s incredibly cute, but what’s the motivation behind the act of giving? It may be to solidify relationships, build alliances, or demonstrate loyalty.
Even magpies leave shiny objects or nuts for humans or even other animals. Why do they make these thoughtful gestures? What’s their intention? For many, it’s to strengthen a connection or relationship. For others, it may be to exert dominance, impress potential mates, or give thanks.
Altruistic gift-giving is even common in bonobos, a species of great ape that shares nearly 99% of its DNA with humans. A 2013 study found that bonobos, just like humans, sometimes give presents to strangers in acts of apparent charity.
Bonobos would do so because they found it interesting to interact with someone they did not know. This shows that gift-giving extends beyond human behaviour alone.
So, Why Do We Give?
At Camberwell Florist, we begin with a simple question: why do we give? Every customer who chooses flowers is trying to express something deeply human, happiness, love, empathy, gratitude, or the need to feel connected. Our role is to be the bridge between the giver and the receiver, helping transform those emotions into something beautifully tangible. We craft each bouquet with intention, because giving isn’t just an act, it’s a way of showing care, sharing affection or respect, and strengthening the bonds within our community.
About the Author
Hermina Bevilacqua is a co-owner of Camberwell Florist. A passionate lover of flowers and nature, Hermina loves to create beautiful bouquets with seasonal flowers for home and gifts.
Hermina is the wife of Joe and mother to Jasmin and Jade. She enjoys writing about flowers and how to best enjoy them, as well as researching the psychology of giving and gifting.
