Good morning everybody. As a so called expert in flower arrangement, I would like to share with you something regarding this beautiful art. Flower arrangement has been an age-old art form. Though in the West arranging flowers in flower pots has been in fashion, yet it is the Japanese that developed the art of flower arrangement in which every element has a particular role to play. This art form is called Ikebana in Japanese. `Ikebana' means 'Flowers kept alive'. Ikebana uses symbols to portray as to how nature and art relate to the daily living. This practice of beautifully arranging flowers has been popular for over 600 years. It has its origin in the religious ritual of Buddhism, in which flowers are offered to the spirits of the dead. In the sixth century, a Japanese emissary to China brought back the knowledge of how to sustain life in cut floral material by adding water. Shortly after, the first formal school of flower arrangement was established by a priest. The use of flower arrangements spread very quickly from the priesthood and temples to the nobility and their homes. It received a status of an art form and therefore came to be recognized as something that is away from religious rituals. Initially it was taught to the people by priests and noblemen. Later there emerged many schools of Ikebana that covered different styles of flower arrangement. With the passage of time, Ikebana became an integral part of the traditional festivals with elaborate displays or exhibitions. Even the rules and materials were prescribed at this stage.