Meaning & Analysis
The proverb is a literal instruction to lay down fresh, green rushes on the floor as a sign of welcome and preparation for the arrival of a stranger or guest. Before the common use of carpets, rushes were used as a floor covering, and providing new ones was an act of honor.
Insights
Honor and Special Welcome
The proverb metaphorically represents the act of giving special honor and a warm welcome to guests, particularly those who are new or have been absent for a long time. The 'green rushes' symbolize the best treatment one can offer to make a visitor feel valued.
Ceremony for Outsiders
It illustrates the idea that formality and ceremony are often reserved for outsiders or special occasions. As Francis Bacon noted, 'Ceremonies and green rushes are for strangers,' suggesting that such displays are a key part of social etiquette when dealing with those outside one's immediate circle.
Novelty over Familiarity
The proverb subtly critiques the human tendency to take the familiar for granted while making grand gestures for the new. It implies a social dynamic where the effort to impress a stranger outweighs the daily courtesies extended to friends and family.
Historical Domestic Practice
The proverb is deeply rooted in the domestic customs of pre-modern Europe, where rushes served as floor coverings. 'Green' rushes, being fresh and fragrant, were a sign of special preparation and honor, unlike the old, soiled rushes of daily life. This act was a tangible, sensory marker of a warm welcome for a guest or newcomer.
Psychology of Novelty
The proverb encapsulates a psychological tendency to extend more effort and ceremony for strangers or infrequent visitors than for those seen daily. As John Lyly's 1584 quotation notes, 'Straungers haue greene rushes, when daily guests are not worth a rushe,' highlighting how novelty often commands greater social effort than familiarity.
Rituals of Hospitality
Beyond mere cleanliness, the act of strewing green rushes was a ritual of hospitality. It is a historical parallel to modern practices like preparing a guest room or using special occasion dinnerware, signifying that the visitor's arrival is a noteworthy event deserving of ceremonial respect.
Rhetorical Devices
Symbolism
'Green rushes' serve as a powerful symbol of freshness, honor, and special preparation, while the 'stranger' symbolizes the novelty or importance that occasions such a welcome.
Imperative Mood
The command 'Strew' gives the proverb an instructional, authoritative tone, presenting it as a piece of timeless social wisdom or a rule of proper conduct.
Sensory Imagery
The proverb evokes a strong sensory image of a clean, fresh, and fragrant room being prepared, which enhances its meaning as an act of deliberate and thoughtful hospitality.
Transcription
Quotations
Grene rushes for this stranger, strewe here (quoth she).
I am sory Euphues that we have no greene Rushes, considering you haue beene so great a straunger.
Straungers haue greene rushes, when daily guests are not worth a rushe.
Ceremonies and green rushes are for strangers.
Rushes as green as Summer for this stranger.
Methinks, friend, You should expect green rushes to be strowed After such discontinuance.
To cause the bells to ring, viz. to make signs of joy at the return of any one, who hath been long absent, as it were a wonder, strow rushes, the English say.
If we had known of your coming, we should have strewn rushes for you.
Annotations
- the covering for floors before carpets came into use
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
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