The hidden meanings behind your favourite fruits

Pineapples

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Pineapples are often associated with hospitality, warmth and friendship. However, in Chinese culture, the pineapple is often thrown into a new house all while saying auspicious phrases like “huat ah” (which means “prosper”) as it is seen as a symbolic gesture to welcome prosperity and good luck.

Peaches

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The peach, with its fuzzy skin and cleft, inspires feelings of Innocence and Virginity. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that this tender stone fruit was sacred to Hymen – the Roman God of Marriage.

In Buddhism, it’s one of the Three Blessed Fruits, and in classical Western art, it was frequently depicted with the Virgin Mary and child in Classical Art, helping to uphold its purity as a symbol of salvation. That is, until Call Me By Your Name came along and ruined centuries of PR.

Grapes

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It’s small wonder that grapes inspire feelings of Abundance and Wealth.

Not only is the fruit the main ingredient of wine, something only the rich could afford in ancient times, but in classical antiquity, it was often depicted in sculptures, reliefs, and decor. Grapes are always part of an overflowing cornucopia, aka the horn of plenty.

Watermelon

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This refreshing fruit that is associated with everything to do with summer has a dark history in the United States. In 1869, Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper printed a caricature of black slaves enjoying watermelons.

The accompanying commentary suggested that the slaves, in character, were like the sloppy fruit, and that their particular enjoyment of watermelon was juvenile. When the fight for rights raged in the late 1800s, African Americans used the watermelons as a symbol of Freedom.

The racial trope, however, has unfortunately persisted to this day. So much so that watermelon imagery was used by former president Barack Obama’s detractors.

Apples

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The grand dame of fruit symbolism has got to go to — drum roll — the apple. Featured Christian, Norse, Roman, even Sumerian mythology, this innocuous fruit has incited so much emotion, it’s hard to pin it down to one.

From Temptation and Lust, to opposing Fertility, Healthiness and Knowledge, the apple is probably now best known in popular culture to be… Expensive, thanks to Steve Jobs.

Berries

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When California-based Driscoll was genetically engineering the perfect berry, it checked out how people respond to fruit. In a survey conducted by the fruit empire, there seemed to be a direct connection between eating berries, and Joy.

The data suggests that berries consistently trigger the strongest, most positive, emotional connections, according to a press release. In fact, this emotional response is a big part of why people eat berries, according to the survey.

That’s especially so when compared to other popular fruit and veg, including kale, beets and lettuce, which are more often associated with functional benefits.

Strawberries

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In medieval times, strawberries represented Righteousness, Goodness and Virtue. St. Francis de Sales (born in 1597) noted the berry’s pure appearance upon the ground and remarked: “In tilling our gardens, we cannot but admire the fresh innocence and purity of the strawberry, because although it creeps along the ground, and is continually crushed by serpents, lizards and other venomous reptiles, yet it does not imbibe the slightest impression of poison or the smallest malignant quality, a true sign that it has no affinity with poison.”

A fan, no doubt of the fruit.

Lemons

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Sour lemons are associated with feelings of Cleanliness and Health. No wonder, since lemons are used commonly in cleansing agents. They have a long history as a health aid — lemon juice was used as a cure for scurvy aboard ships in the late 1700s.

Going a little further back to the Baroque age, documentation shows that lemons were used in funerals. They were put into the hands of the deceased, while mourners would cast the fruit into open graves.

Pallbearers and clergymen would also carry them. Why? The medicinal qualities of lemon were said to help prevent infection, and the sharp scent helped combat the smell of decay.

Pears

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Next time someone calls you pear-shaped, don’t fret, for the pear is a symbol of Sensuality.

It was a fruit sacred to goddesses in ancient Greece and in art, the fruit was all curves and blushing ripeness, doubt the reason behind the visceral association.