I tried to find the etymology (word origin) of the name Daffodil, but all I could find is that they were originally called Asphodels, from their Greek name. I've seen that name before, in some old stories I guess, and now I know what asphodels are!
In the Language of Flowers, Daffodils stand for "Regard" or respect. In Chinese lore they are a sign of Good Fortune, in Japan a symbol of Joy and Mirth.
Daffodils are the birthday flower for March! Their strong association with the arrival of Spring (and Easter) has made them a symbol of rebirth and new beginnings...
Here's a famous and beautiful daffodils poem, by William Wordsworth:
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
